


Day of the Dead

by cheshire_carroll



Series: Moonspell Series [4]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Twilight Series - Stephenie Meyer
Genre: F/F, F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-09-07
Updated: 2018-04-26
Packaged: 2018-08-13 14:10:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 30
Words: 94,679
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7979545
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cheshire_carroll/pseuds/cheshire_carroll
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Wizarding War over, Victoria defeated and the Volturi no longer a problem, life should finally be easier for Bella Swan. However, in the aftermath of the destruction of the royal Italian coven, there's an unrest stirring up in the vampire world; unrest and an anger that grows as covens are systematically destroyed and a shadowy figure points the blame in Bella and the Cullen's direction. Finding herself in the crosshairs of a dying race and an ancient figure, cloaked in darkness, Bella isn't just facing danger from the outside. In the aftermath of her wedding and honeymoon, Bella is faced with a terrible decision with an irreversible aftermath, and the fate of the entire vampire race is no longer the only impossible choice she must make.  </p><p>Set during Twilight and post Deathly Hallows:  </p><p> </p><p>DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter or Twilight. I am only writing this for my amusement, and for others amusement. I am not writing this for a profit of any kind.<br/>DISCLAIMER: I do not own any of the images used.      </p><p>Note: The time-lines have been fiddled with to make the story work</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue & Chapter 1

**PROLOGUE:**

 

"What?" 

The ancient vampiress's voice was a low, threatening snarl, and her eyes furious as she looked over at the vampire in front of her. Felix shifted slightly in place, a movement too minute for any human to see, eyes flicking over to Demetri. 

Returning to Volterra and finding the castle destroyed had been an unpleasant surprise, and yet Felix had almost found himself relieved that Aro was dead, as it meant that he didn't have to give him the news that Jane was dead, along with two other members of the guard that had been sent to deal with the newborn army situation in Seattle.

Not that Athenodora was taking it much better then Aro would have. 

Felix had been with the Volturi a long time, longer then Jane and Alec had, longer then even Charmian– or Chelsea, as she was going by this century; or she had been, at least, because she was dead now too– and he remembered back when there had been three wives to guard, back before Athenodora and Sulpicia had been hidden away in their tower.

Athenodora was the mate of the most bloodthirsty King for a reason– she was just as cruel and fond of violence, bloodshed and murder as Caius had always been, but, much like Caius, she had always been held back by Aro's rules. 

But Aro was dead now, and so was Caius, and whoever had killed Caius should have made sure they'd killed Athenodora too, because if there was one thing Athenodora had loved more then bloodshed, it was her mate. 

She was old and powerful and ruthless, and Felix actually felt sorry for the poor bastards who had crossed her. And right now he was also worried that he had just made it on her shit list too, and that was a very, very terrifying place to be.

"You are telling me," Athenodora said, her voice low and poisonous as she stalked forwards, closing the distance between them, "that Jane is dead? That the Swan girl killed her?" 

Felix shifted minutely in place, ready to defend himself if need be– Athenodora was intelligent and sadistic and ruthless, but he was the better fighter, and if it came down to it, he would kill her before he let her hurt or kill him. Without the Kings, there was no Volturi, and without the Volturi, there was no guard– which meant he didn't serve her, not anymore. He didn't have to let her hurt him, or order him around.

And then Alec entered the room and Felix let himself forget any thoughts of fighting back– with Alec at her side, Athenodora didn't need to be a fighter. 

And Felix had actually hoped Alec was dead too, because he was the one person guaranteed to have taken the news of Jane's death even worse then Aro. And if Athenodora had been furious, then the look on Alec's face was beyond murderous. He was bone-white, and his eyes were black with rage. "She's dead? My sister is dead?" he asked, his voice so quiet it was practically a whisper. "And that the pathetic little human girl is responsible?"

Genuinely too afraid to speak, not that he'd ever admit it, Felix nodded. Alec turned and stalked towards the doorway. Athenodora moved, swiftly, blocking his way.

"Move!" Snarled Alec, his voice guttural in its rage. "I'm going to kill her! I'm going to  _rip_  her to  _pieces_  and–"

"And this does  _not_  change the fact we have a plan." Athenodora said, and her voice softer now that it was directed toward Alec. "I cannot let you go and get yourself killed going after her."

"You can't stop me!" Spat Alec, and Athenodora's voice turned cold again.

"If you go now, you will die, and the murderer of your sister will have your death on her hands too. Is that what you want? To let Jane have died for nothing?" She demanded, harshly. 

Alec snarled again, but he stepped back, away from the door. "She's mine." He said, "Her death is mine!" 

"If you live that long." Athenodora said, icily, turning away from Alec, and back to them. "You will tell me everything that happened, right from the beginning." She ordered. 

"Yes, Mistress." Felix said, resigning himself to her service once more.

-

-

-

**CHAPTER ONE:**

 

"I cannot believe this." I said, "I cannot believe you both."

"Shh, Bella," Jacob responded absently, eyes glued to the display in front of him. I glared at him, but he didn't notice– nor did my fiancé, who appeared just as taken. 

In front of us, the Maserati GranTurismo gleamed (ominously) under the overhead lights of the car dealership.

When I used to hope that Jacob and Edward would get along, I never really pictured it like this– me entirely irrelevant as both of them stared at a car the same way a starving man would stare if faced with an all-you-can-eat buffet.

"It has a 4.7-liter V8 engine that puts out 454 horse power and 384 pounds per feet of torque," Edward said, and I could hear the appreciation in his voice. "And you don't have to choose between automatic or manual either, it comes with a six-speed automatic that includes a manual shifting mode." Jacob shook his head in blatant amazement.

"What are its speeds?" he asked.

"It reaches top speeds of between 177 mph and 186 mph," Edward told him and Jacob whistled.

"That's nearing some of the top speeds available for production vehicles!" he said in admiration.

"It's not just an endurance runner either, it's also a sprinter." Edward added. "It can go from 0 to 60 mph in 4.7 seconds and can complete a quarter mile starting from a stop in only 13.3 to 13.6 seconds."

"Amazing," Jacob breathed, shaking his head again. "Unbelievable. Reckon we could take it for a spin?"

Edward fished a shiny black credit card from his pocket and a wide grin broke out over Jacob's face and he punched the air, apparently not giving a damn about the prospect of being locked inside a small space with a vampire– not when that small space was a luxury Italian sports car. "Yes!"

"Go snog Dementors," I grumbled under my breath to them both, before turning and trying not to stomp as I made my way over to the fancy leather and chrome couches. An assistant offers me a drink- ' _tea, coffee, water, a glass of champagne, ma'am_?' I considered my options, and then took the champagne– I felt I deserved some sort of consolation after the emotional trauma I had suffered.

After my faithful old Chevy finally wheezed its last wheeze, I asked my favourite mechanic to fix it. Instead, the bloody traitor sided with Edward, and now here we were, all three of us, standing in a car dealership that sold the sort of cars that were so expensive that they didn't bother displaying the prices– if you came in here, then you damn well knew your cars and how much they were going to cost. 

Heaving out another sigh, I accepted the tall-stemmed glass from the assistant and flopped back down on the sofa, letting my head fall back with a soft thud. It had been around three and a half months now since the fight with Victoria and her army of newborns, since the temporary alliance with the Quileute wolf-shifter Pack, and since I'd handed over the reins to my wedding to Alice. 

It was still strange to think that I was engaged, even now when the wedding was only a couple nights away. I'd never thought of myself as someone's  _wife_ , but I couldn't deny that the idea of being Edward's wife was  _thrilling_. 

"Are you coming with us?" Jacob asked, interrupting my thoughts. I looked up at him, at the wide grin on his face. Edward, who was standing beside him, less then a foot in distance between them, looked similarly enthusiastic. "It's a four seater."

Like I said, I'd always hoped that one day Edward and Jacob would get along, but although it used to be a pipe dream, things had really changed over these past three and a half months. Maybe it was because now Jacob had actually been in a true life or death situation, he had gained a new appreciation for life; for worrying about the important things. Maybe it was seeing vampires so far gone into their bloodlust that had him realising maybe the Cullen's weren't the monsters he'd always thought they'd been, and he'd seen who his real enemies were. Or maybe he'd just grown up and realised that the world wasn't as black and white as he'd seen it before.  

I didn't know, and I didn't really care– I was just glad to have my friend back, even if he seemed to get along now with my fiancé a little too well. Merlin, I really had loved my poor old truck. And even though Rosalie actually seemed to like me now, and I knew she was an excellent mechanic, she was off living in Alaska. 

She wasn't the only one either– the Cullen's mansion home seemed very empty now. After getting used to it housing eleven people, even after three and a half months it was still a bit of a shock to walk past all the empty bedrooms. Alice had stayed in Forks, of course– she had a wedding to plan, where else would she be? I wasn't that lucky– and Jasper would never leave Alice's side. 

But Carlisle, Esme, Rosalie and Emmett were all gone, along with their temporary houseguests, Carmen and Eleazar, and the two newborn vampires, Bree Tanner and Fred Melville, who had been spared the same fate that the rest of Victoria's army had met.

Bree had surrendered to Carlisle during the fight, and Fred hadn't been involved in the fighting at all, having run from the army before they'd even left Seattle. It was after the fight, and after the Volturi guard had been defeated, three of them killed and two driven off, that at Bree's request Carlisle had approached Fred and offered him a place to stay– or, if he chose to keep going on alone, then at least offer him the knowledge that there was a choice, that killing humans wasn't the only way to feed, to stay alive. 

Fred had accepted Carlisle's offer, much to Bree's happiness, but that had meant that the Cullens had found themselves newly responsible for two newborn vampires, both Turned less then six months ago, and fresh-Turned vampires? Well, they were not ideal neighbors to humans, to say the least, so in the interest of preserving the human population of Forks, the Cullens had relocated to a very isolated house in Alaska owned by the Denalis. 

Edward, of course, had stayed in Forks– stayed with  _me_. And if I got my way, I would never be parted from him again. 

Except right now. "No thanks." I said.

"No?" Jacob repeated, looking at me like I'd just grown a second head. " _No_?" 

"There's no need to be so dramatic," I told him. "It's just a car." This was clearly the wrong thing to say because Jacob's whole expression had turned absolutely horrified. 

"Just– just– the Maserati GranTurismo is more then  _just_  a  _car_ , Bella!" He exclaimed, waving his arms around like a madman. "It's– it's art on wheels! Unrivalled class and elegance! Innovative, but so true to tradition– no other four-seater has the same sports performance! And just look at the way the bodywork hugs the car's mechanical structure, like– like a tight dress over curvaceous hips!"  

"Do you need some alone time right now, Jacob?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.  

"You're a godless heathen." Jacob said, disgusted. "This car is wasted on you." 

"I'm a witch," I retorted, quietly enough that the nearby sales assistant wouldn't hear. "I thought the 'godless heathen' bit was implied." 

"As a thank you for all that you've done for my family, Jacob, I would be honored if you'd allow me to purchase you one." Edward chose then to speak up, voice and expression both very genuine. 

Edward's generosity– actually, the Cullen family's generosity in general could be very overwhelming, and when they casually said things like that I had to remind myself that dropping $345, 000 on a car wasn't a huge deal when not only had Carlisle been alive and earning money for over three hundred years, but Alice could see the future, and therefore predict with one hundred percent accuracy things such as stock market changes and lottery numbers.  

Jacob stared at Edward with eyes so wide they looked to be in danger of falling out of his skull. Then he turned back to me. "Right, sorry Bella," he said. "We had a good run, but I've got a new best friend now." 

I looked at Jacob indignantly. "Are you that easily bought?" I demanded. He didn't even hesitate to nod.

"Yes. Absolutely." He turned back to Edward. "If you weren't getting married to my ex-best friend, I'd probably kiss you right now." He announced. "I absolutely accept this gift." 

"See, Bella?" Edward said, turning to me. His expression was encouraging. "There's nothing wrong with accepting gifts from people." 

"I do accept gifts," I protested. "I just don't want a new car– I want my truck!" I turned a pleading expression towards Jacob, hoping that maybe now he was getting his own sports car, he might feel more like fixing my beloved truck. He didn't even look up, ignoring me entirely as he looked through an information packet the helpful staff member had offered. 

"There are thirteen different color choices for the exterior and ten for the interior!" He said, eagerly. "I have to ring Quil and Embry– this choice is huge!" 

I sighed and just gave up. "Fine. Get me a car. See if I care." I said, sulkily. "When Rosalie moves back, I'm asking her to fix my truck." 

Edward looked like he was mentally compiling a list of ways to blackmail Rosalie into refusing to help, but I was determined that my truck would run again, even if I had to figure out how to do it myself. I would have used my magic to try and fix it, but I didn't know how well magic would mix with the electronics or the engine and I didn't want to damage it further.

Really, the fact that my truck had broken down so soon after I'd agreed to stop being so awkward about Edward spending money on me, a conversation we'd had after he'd bought me a diamond key necklace from Tiffany and Co. for my eighteenth which I'd felt really awkward over, was highly suspicious, but I couldn't prove anything and Jacob had just shown how easily he was bought. 

Bloody cars. I was glad that I didn't have to rely on them to get around. "I'm heading off," I announced to my boys, standing up. "Have fun." 

Edward looked like he was going to protest, and then decided against it, the lure of a test drive in the Maserati obviously too great. Jacob waved absently in my direction. I just sighed, finished my champagne in two big swallows then handed the empty glass over to the sales assistant and walked out. 

We were in Seattle, the dealership located in a reasonably busy part of the city. A check of my new shiny cell-phone– proof that I so could accept gifts– told me it was nearing five o'clock. If the sun was any lower in the sky, I couldn't tell, hidden as it was by the heavy grey blanket of clouds– the ideal weather for a vampire to walk around in the daytime in. It was this weather exactly that Alice had foreseen, and planned my wedding around. 

I walked along the streets of Seattle until I found a turn off to one that wasn't so busy and discretely cast a notice-me not charm on myself, so that the gaze of those around me would slide right past me. Picturing my destination, I spun slightly on the spot and apparated back to my house, to my room.

It was... not as empty as I was expecting, and I blinked over at Alice. "Ah, you're back. Excellent." She said, like she hadn't already predicted my exact time of return through her Gift. 

She looked... suspiciously well made-up. Her inky-black hair was sleek and styled in straight, blunt bangs with the ends closest to her face curled slightly forwards, her lips were coated in a layer of deep red matte lipstick, and she was wearing dark, smoky eye shadow. 

"Alice?" I asked, warily, my wand hand twitching. The expression on her face was far-too sweet and angelic. "What's going on? What did you do?"     

"I foresaw," she said, which by now I knew was always followed by something I didn't want to hear, "that this would be much easier for me if I surprised you with it."

"I guarantee," I told her, eyes narrowing, "that you're absolutely wrong." Her eyes narrowed too, though her smile stayed sweet. 

"I've planned a bachelorette party for you," she said, voice chiming. "It starts in two hours." I gave her a  _look_  that I hoped appropriately expressed the absolute horror and dismay I was feeling in response to what she'd just said.

"You're joking." I said– begged, really. Alice smiled– it wasn't a nice smile. In fact, it was a very dangerous smile that showed far too many of her sharp, white, perfect teeth, which contrasted with her red lipstick in a way that was very unnerving. I swallowed and fought the urge to take a step back.

Alice might be tiny and she might look as deceptively fragile and delicate as spun sugar, with a smile that was just as sweet, but when she set her mind to something, the tiny vampire turned to the type of intense that made you wonder periodically if she was going to take off one of her designer Jimmy Choos and beat you to death with the pointy, pointy heel. She was sweetness and sugar and pixie dust, and I was pretty sure everyone was a little bit terrified of her; I knew I was– it was a self preservation thing. 

" _Alice_ ," I wasn't ashamed to admit my voice was a whine. "I don't  _want_  a bachelorette party!" Alice rolled her eyes, but her expression turned encouraging. 

"Come on, Bella," she coaxed, a grin curving the corners of her red lips. "A little party never killed nobody." I went very, very still. 

"Alice," I said, slowly, looking down at the small vampire as my stomach sunk. "Please, please _, please_  tell me you haven't planned me a Great Gatsby themed bachelorette party." 

Alice laughed, the sound like beautiful, chiming bells. "The twenties were fabulous," she said, her expression decidedly smug.

"Do you even remember them?" I asked, grumpily. I wasn't sure exactly when Alice had been Turned, other then the early 1900's, but I did know she had no memory of her human life at all, something very unusual for a vampire. Sure, their memories of their time as human were blurry– like looking through mud, Edward had told me once– but they still remembered them. Before the pain of Turning, Alice only remembered one thing, someone saying her name, but she wasn't even sure that it was a memory, or maybe she was remembering what hadn't happened yet, seeing that someday somebody  _would_  call her Alice. 

"They were better than wine, women and song, darling," Alice said, her red lips curving up in a smirk that was positively wicked, which didn't answer my question at all. "Now get in the car, we're driving back to my house." 

"You didn't run over?" I asked, surprised. Alice shot me a look that very clearly questioned my intelligence.

"And waste all the time I spent on my hair by ruining it in the wind?" She asked, somewhat incredulously. 

"Point taken." I mumbled. Alice smiled victoriously and I sighed heavily and followed her out of my room and down the stairs, locking the door of the house with a tap of my wand before getting in her car.

She drove like a mad woman, as usual, then ushered me into the mansion and up to her room, then across it to the large bathroom where I'd spent far too much time playing Bella Barbie and I resigned myself to the inevitability of my fate.

At least she was efficient. First came the trimming then buffing of my fingernails before applying a coat of sparkly gold nail polish, and then she wasted no time in starting the process of moisturizing, powdering and polishing my every surface. I cursed her out loud as she used strips of hot wax to rip the hair from my legs, armpits, bikini line (I very firmly refused the brazilian), eyebrows and upper lip, and then used tweezers to pluck away any stubborn hairs that had resisted the wax. I yanked the toothbrush out of her hand before she could try brushing my teeth for me, and then gargled the proffered mouthwash– I'd given up wondering why she had those things around.

After she then painted my lips a bold crimson, as well as applying the same smoky eye shadow that she was wearing, Alice curled the top half of my hair back and tied it with a blue ribbon that she said matched the dress I hadn't seen yet, but already had a vague idea of what it would look like, if she had gone with the Great Gatsby flapper theme. The rest of my hair was then set in spiral curls that cascaded down my back– it was a style, Alice explained, that was based on how Mary Pickford, a 1920's actress, wore her long, curled tresses, during an era when bobbed styles ruled. 

"And it covers your tattoo that way," she said pointedly, and I used a great deal of self restraint in order to avoid rolling my eyes at the old argument. 

For my eighteenth birthday a few weeks ago, while Edward had bought me a diamond necklace, Jacob had whisked me away to Seattle, taking me to go get a tattoo. 

The artist in the tattoo parlor we'd walked into had looked as though she wouldn't have appeared out of place at a punk concert; her hair had been bright green and spiked with gel and she was wearing five-inch pumps, an assortment of purple and electric blue accessories over a simple black dress and sparkly black nails polish that had seemed to reflect different colors in various lighting.

"You available?" Jacob had asked, while I'd tried not to throw up. 

"Depends," the woman had replied casually. "You drunk, high, or in any other way mentally incapacitated?"

"Nope," Jacob'd said, far too cheerfully. 

"Then sure. What do you need?" 

"My bestie here is getting her first tattoo," Jacob had tugged me forward and thrown a broad arm around my shoulder.

The woman had smiled reassuringly at me. "Beginner's nerves? Don't worry, hun, you look like a tough cookie to me. You'll do fine. Any designs in particular?" 

I had actually been prepared for that with a page torn out of a notebook that had a line of Chinese characters inked on it by Angela; characters that I'd wanted inked on my skin and had mentioned once to Jacob. He had remembered.  

"I think I recognise part of this," the tattoo artist had mused, "wisdom, right? And courage?" 

"And loss." I'd added, quietly, causing the lady to give me a very knowing look.

And that was how I'd ended up with a line of Chinese characters inked down the back of my neck. They were small, each character about the size of my thumbnail, all of them completely hidden when I wore my hair down or in a ponytail. 

And Alice had not been happy. She wasn't against tattoos, or me getting one– what she had been, and still was,  _very_  unhappy about was me getting one right before my wedding; the wedding she had spent the last three and a half months planning. She wanted every single detail about the day perfect, including my look– a look which did not include a tattoo. Apparently she'd already had a hairstyle planned for me, and she'd had to change it completely– oh the  _horror_!

Alice pushed a pair of stockings into my hands with enough force to make me stumble slightly, the narrowing of her eyes telling me she had a good idea of where my thoughts were going. I rolled my eyes and stripped off my jeans, not bothering with a useless display of modesty– Alice had helped me shower after James had broken my leg; there was literally no part of my body she hadn't seen before, even though my new scars made me self-conscious at times. 

I slipped the black sheer stockings on, and then Alice helped me into my costume for the night. The flapper dress was slightly fitted and made of striking blue mesh, paired with a silver charmeuse slip and completed with an intricate black swirling sequin design. It had a jagged hem dripping in sparkling fringe, a neckline that dipped modestly, and when I moved the shimmering sequins captured the light and sent it sparkling. I was infinitely grateful that the shoes of the Jazz Age weren't typically too high, or too wacky; the classic nude pumps Alice had matched with my dress had a modest heel of no more then two inches.  

After helping me pull on black silk gloves that reached up past my elbow and fastening a necklace of pearls that was heavy enough I was highly suspicious they were real around my neck, Alice nodded in satisfaction. "You are a masterpiece," she said, "a vision of perfection. Now go wait in my bedroom, and for the love of god  _do not_  touch anything!" 

"I won't!" I protested, and she gave me a look that convinced me staying very, very still was the best thing to do. I followed her meekly out of her bathroom, back into her room, and she gave me one last warning look before disappearing into her giant closet. 

She took only a moment to change, and when she emerged back into the bedroom she was so breathtaking it actually made my breath catch. Elaborate green and black glass beading swirled across the surface of her dress in floral patterns, while elongated beaded scallops hung just to the knees at the hemline. Despite the plunging v-neck, Alice still managed to look perfectly classy, with strings of pearls wrapped around her wrists, and diamonds sparkling on her fingers and throat.

Dressed like this, I couldn't help but think that this was what Alice was born to wear, couldn't help but just  _see_  her; human and dancing to the music of Duke Ellington and Louis Armstrong, surrounded by other young women with red-painted lips, feathers in their hair and pearls around their necks.

"Are you ready?" she asked, brightly, holding out one of her hands. She was holding an inkwell in her other hand, and it was a random enough object that I easily guessed it was a Portkey. 

"No," I groaned, in response to her question, but I reached out to grasp onto her hand anyway, and she activated the Portkey.

 

**AN: "Wine, women and song" is an old saying that endorses hedonistic lifestyles or behaviors– a similar, more modern form of the idea is "sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll".**

**I hope you enjoyed the first chapter! Feedback, as always, is greatly appreciated :)**

**~ _Cheshire Carroll_**


	2. Chapter 2

**CHAPTER TWO:**

 

The Jazz Age screamed indulgence and opulence beyond compare, and Alice had stayed true to that theme. The entire room was a lavish spectacle; the lighting was soft and warm, with string lights light dripping crystals, and potted orchids, white roses, white gardenias and lilies placed strategically around the room. The floors were a gleaming mahogany, the walls a glamorous, bright metallic gold, and strings of dripping pearls that I prayed weren't real were  _everywhere_ ; draped over chair backs, around the wine bottles, on the frames of the posters of classic 20's films decorating the walls.  

I could see glasses of pearls, a gramophone and an old-fashioned camera. The dinnerware, sitting on the tables covered by opulent gold silk, was white with gold trimmings, and paired with clear glasses and gold-colored napkins, and in the center of each table was an extravagant, and striking centerpiece of flamboyant feathers, flourishing flowers and more pearls. A draped white buffet table was garnished with glistening hors-d'oeuvre, spiced baked hams crowded against salads, small plates of cheese croquettes, stuffed mushrooms, mussels and cockles, as well as glasses of mint julet, blackberry-gin and bubbling champagne. 

And then there were my friends, all dressed in beautiful silks, delicate lace and floating chiffon that draped effortlessly around the body, as well as a mix of cascading ruffles, sequined accents, dazzling feathers, beads and bows, fringes topped with faux fur stoles, large glittering head pieces, bold crimson lips and glamorous curls, held in place by sparkling bobby pins and hair combs. 

Alice was amazing. That's all I could think as I stared, wide-eyed, open-mouthed, at the glittering soiree before me. I had to blink back tears as I turned to face her, and her beautiful face turned horrified. "You hate it?" she gasped, looking aghast at herself, "oh Bella, I'm so sor–"

"Shut up, Alice, it's amazing," I interrupt her, sniffing, not wanting the tears still threatening to spill to ruin my make-up. "It's so amazing,  _you_  are so amazing, creating this stupidly amazing party, and I'm so sorry I was being so stupid and ungrateful about it." Alice practically glowed in response to my praise. "Just no strippers, okay?" I said, reaching up to carefully dab at the corners of my eyes with a gold-colored napkin Alice handed me. When Alice stayed suspiciously silent my stomach practically flipped upside down. "Alice," I said, slowly. 

She gave me puppy dog eyes. "It'll only be just one," she said, her tone coaxing.  

"No Alice," I said, firmly. "No strippers." 

"But–"

"No, no and hell no."

"Just hear me out," Alice said, stubbornly. "I did the research; strippers are a tradition at bachelor and bachelorette parties as a final temptation for single life–"

"Alice, I'm quite happy not being single." I pointed out. 

" _And_ ," Alice spoke over me, "they are a test. The best man or maid of honor is the devil's advocate against getting married; they are supposed to test the betrothed to prove their commitment by leading them to all the temptations of single life and letting them prove they are ready to give it up. The groom or bride gains the respect of their closest friends and allies by passing this test, and it signals to the group that they really are ready and that their friends should respect that choice going forward. Following the party, the friends must then take on a new role in your life. They are no longer your wingmen assisting you with getting laid; they are your support structure for being faithful to your marriage." 

She just looked so damn pleased with herself that I gave in. 

Honestly, I couldn't let that sort of thorough research go unrewarded– it was the Ravenclaw in me.

"I'm not going to enjoy it at all." I warned her and she laughed, the sound bell-like and angelic in a way that she most certainly was not. 

"We'll see," she said, with a bright, beaming smile, "now hurry up and mingle so we can do presents."

"Presents?" 

"Yes, everyone brought two gifts– one practical and one for fun!" 

"Oh Merlin," I sighed. "This cannot end well."

"You're such a pessimist," Alice complained huffily. 

"Realist." I corrected. 

"Kill joy." Was her prompt retort. 

Deciding that arguing with her was like arguing with a brick wall, I gave up for the second time in as many minutes and made my way over to say hello to everyone who had attended the party she'd thrown. 

Including Alice, there were eight attendees– well, nine including me. Luna was there, of course, as well as Isobel, Ginny, Hermione, Angela, Katie and, to my surprise but cautious hope that this was signifying a new step in our relationship, Rosalie. 

It was all surprisingly casual, despite our extravagant costumes. I chatted with everyone, tried the champagne, and chatted some more. 

"Alice says that the maid of honor should make a speech," Luna mentioned idly as I nibbled on some glazed ham. 

"You don't have to," I told her. "Alice says a lot of things."

"Alice is usually right." Alice said, pointedly. Luna looked solemnly at me, and placed a hand on my shoulder. 

"Bella," she said, "always follow your inner moonlight."

I waited a moment to see if she wanted to say anything else, but she didn't so I just smiled at her. "Thanks, Moon Girl." I said, and pulled her into a hug. 

"Well, if that's it for the toast..." Alice said, clapping her hands together, "that means it's present time!" 

"Oh no," I groaned.

"Oh  _yes_." She said, smugly.   

Following Alice's orders, the practical gifts came first– Rosalie bought me diamond earrings, Isobel a pair of crystal goblets, Alice a delicate ivory brush set, Hermione a framed print that read " _And they lived happily ever after_ ", Katie a small white statue of a man and a woman under a guardian angel, the heart-shaped wings of the guardian angel protecting the embracing couple, Angela a 'Mr. and Mrs. Cullen' set of silk cushions and Ginny a pair of hand-knitted blue woolen jumpers, both with 'B&E' in bronze on the front. 

And then there was Luna's, which was the most special of all. The gift she placed in my hand was exquisite and strange and beautiful. It was a flower that had been turned into glass crystal, reflecting the light in a rainbow of colors. That the flower was a dandelion was neither here nor there, and my smile saw Luna's face glow with a happiness that outshone my gift. "It's a spell my mother taught me. This is the first time I've cast it, not using her wand." Luna said, softly. Hearing the unspoken  _'not since she died'_  I had to blink away the tears blurring my vision as I hugged her as tight as I could. 

Of course, then came the not-so practical gifts. These were 'anonymous' and I thought I might spontaneously combust my face was burning such a bright red as erotic toys started to clutter the table, such as a pair of furry leopard-print handcuffs, a riding crop, pink nipple tassels, edible men's underwear, a 'new husband' voodoo doll that I was fairly certain was from Rosalie, lingerie so skimpy I could probably use it to floss my teeth, and a book called  _'Tickle His Pickle',_ which was filled with tips on how to please his...  _pickle_. That particular item, I had no doubt, was from Hermione, and was one of the only gag gifts I thought I might actually be able to use. 

Looking down at the table in horrified fascination, I missed the new addition to the room. That was, until Alice pointedly cleared her throat and I looked up from the edible men's underwear ("because it's not like Edward can eat the girl's knickers") and felt my knees turn weak. 

There was a stranger standing across the room from us, a young man of such breathtaking beauty that the room seemed to have become strangely airless. Obviously a veela, he was just too flawlessly handsome not to be, he was tall, with broad shoulders, a trim waist, and curved hips clad in tight leather pants. He wore no shirt, only a bow tie and a black vest that was left open, showing a strip of leanly muscled chest and a flat, stomach, slim but lined with hard muscle beneath. His silvery-blonde hair, which fell almost to his mid-back, seemed to ripple, even as he stood still, his eyes were a deep, deep blue eyes, his lips pink and full, and his skin a flawless milky-cream color. 

As he moved toward us, I faintly registered he had the same air of grace as a vampire, the same gliding movement, but where a vampire always had that bit of predator in their motions, always something primal, the hunter, lurking under the surface, the veela man was just... effortlessly perfect. His very presence appeared to emanate a faint, silvery glow, and while a vampire's beauty usually dimmed everyone else by comparison, with the veela, his ethereal looks seemed to beautify everybody they fell upon.

"Oh my god." I breathed and Alice grinned a cheshire grin, cat like and infinitely satisfied. If a vampire could purr, she would be as she pushed me down onto a chair that I was sure hadn't been there a moment ago. 

"Oh yes, I'm sure you won't enjoy this at all." She teased, and I just sort of gaped as I watched the way the veela's body started to move to the steady beat of the jazz. Only I wasn't even sure I could call what he was doing movements; it was more like water, a wave crashing against the shore. 

"N-no, not at all." I tried to say, but I was so distracted, so mesmerized by the veela's flowing movements, I wasn't sure I'd actually said the words out loud or not. 

He was both light and shadow at once, a shimmering vision, and it could have been hours I watched him dance, slow and seductive, his hips moving just enough to entice, for how enrapturing it was. 

And then his movements became more teasing, his mouth curving into a slow, slow smile as his pants and vest turned as insubstantial as smoke, shimmering and fading from existence, leaving him dressed in nothing but a thong colored such a dark blue it looked almost black. The bow tie had shimmered from existence too, revealing a collar crafted of interlocking silver chain-links that were all connected by a large dark blue jewel set in silver that nestled in the hollow of his throat. 

I had about two seconds to process this very sudden change and then he swiftly glided forward, moving to stand in right front of me. I made a sound like a dying cat as he started moving again; slow, at first, the sway of his body so subtle that it took a moment for me to appreciate the way he moved. He turned, his back to me, and then I barely had the time to appreciate the magnificent muscular curve of his now very bare and very,  _very_  attractive posterior, before he was turning around again. 

I wasn't even sure if the music was still playing, I was stuck there staring, my mouth slightly open. The movements were still slow, slow enough that I could appreciate the preciseness of it– the way the rippling muscles of his stomach stretched and flexed when he raised his arms over his head, the way his full pink lips parted when he dropped his body down, the way he slid a hand down his thigh as he moved. Every turn was a tease; his sculpted back as beautiful as the rippling muscles of his stomach and the firm curve of his delectable derriere, and the low dip of his thong was undeniably tantalizing. 

"Oh Christ," I said, despite myself.

He slowed even more, almost maddeningly, and leaned over me in a way that brought the tip of his nose inches from mine.

"Hush," he murmured, one finger ghosting a 'shush' over my lips. "Relax, mademoiselle. Enjoy."

And then he pivoted, practically onto my lap, and rolled his hips in such a way that he could  _almost_  rub against me, only an inch, maybe two, away. He slid up and down, going closer and closer, but never quite touching me any more than a graze. I gasped, breathing in the smell of him; lotus and something crystal sharp. 

He turned again, smooth as ever, and my eyes roved shamelessly up his body. He slid a knee along my thigh, braced against the arm of the chair, and leaned in. He stayed eye level as he shifted around, slipped his legs over mine so he was straddling me without actually applying any pressure, and then pressed us lightly together, his arms winding around my neck.

I was barely breathing, unable to shatter the trance I seemed to be in, afraid a single word would drive him away, or would coax him further in. I felt like I was in the eye of the storm, a moment of peace before the winds picked up and I was swept away, and I wanted to memorize those eyes and that face and every delicious inch of skin and body. 

And then he leaned forwards and brushed those full pink lips against my splotchy red cheek before gracefully standing back up. I sat there, stunned and frozen, hands trembling and breath heavy. "Your 'usband eez a very lucky man." He said, rolling the 'r' in his throaty, richly accented voice. I nodded, dumbly, and the veela blew me a kiss that sent silver sparkles shimmering into the air. 

And then, with a last bow to the room, he twisted on the spot and vanished from our lives with a soft  _pop_. 

Rosalie was the one to break the silence. "If that's a male veela, what do the women look like?" She asked, sounding stunned. I looked up, over at her. Her crimson lips were parted slightly in her utter shock. 

"Oh Merlin," Ginny exhaled shakily, a hand pressed to her chest. "When I asked Fleur if there was such a thing as a veela stripper... Sweet mother of Merlin, I was  _not_  expecting that."

"I don't think any of us were," Alice said, with a breathless laugh. 

"Oh Christ." I repeated my earlier words, making everyone turn to face me. I wasn't sure what my face looked like, but when about half them started laughing I gathered it must be something pretty spectacular. 

"I'm going to get married again," Alice decided, "and you're going to throw me a bachelorette party and hire him again."

I just flopped my head back, looking up at the roof. "Bloody hell." 

"It's going to be hard to top that," Rosalie said. A thin, icy finger poked my burning cheek. 

"Is she broken?" Alice asked. "Maybe we should have saved the stripper for last." 

"Bella will be fine," Ginny said confidently, and I felt a champagne flute being pushed into my hand. I lifted it to my mouth and drank it all in one go. "See?" Ginny said, as I shook my head from side to side in order to clear it and then stood up on legs I would be the first to admit were definitely on the shaky side. 

"I need another one of those," I mumbled, and Ginny summoned one obligingly, catching it with the skill of a Chaser and handing it to me. I drained that one too, and then nodded. "All right, all good," I said, inhaling deeply then exhaling before pausing and turning to glare at Alice. "This will not go unpunished," I threatened, but she just laughed. 

"You loved it." She said, unbearably smug and unashamedly triumphant. I threw both of the empty champagne flutes at her, but she just caught them and half skipped, half danced away, still laughing. 

"You're dead to me!" I yelled after her. 

At least the food was delicious, which redeemed Alice slightly– that was, until she pulled out a giant cartoon poster of a naked man who was missing his 'playing piece'; it was, apparently, the adult's only version of pin the tail on the donkey, only Alice had proudly called it 'pin the Mr. on the Man'. Unsurprisingly, Alice and Rosalie won that, but out of the non-vampires, Hermione did the best. 

Following pin the Mr. on the Man was a piñata. I was honestly expecting it to be penis-shaped at this point, so when the piñata turned out to be gold and love-heart shaped I was surprised and relieved. That was, until after we'd all had a few rounds and Hermione's extra vicious swing punched a hole straight through the cardboard and massage oils, lubes, make up, nail polish, and gift cards spilled to the ground instead of candy. I picked up a gift card, which was for a massage parlor and rolled my eyes, because  _of course_.   

"Alright," Alice said, and at this point I was sort of terrified about what was going to come out of her mouth next. "We've done the maid of honor speech, the gift exchange, the stripper and lap dance, the party games and the humans all have full stomachs. It's officially time to start the drinking game." 

"Drinking game?" I asked, warily. 

"All of my research sources mentioned the same game," Alice said, her gold eyes sparkling with mischief. "Apparently it's called 'never have I ever'." 

"I haven't played that since I was eight years old," I said in disbelief. "It's a drinking game, now?" 

"I researched bachelorette parties too," Hermione said. "I wasn't sure what to expect, and I wanted to be prepared. All of the magazines I consulted all specifically referenced drinking games, so I brought along something special." With a casual flick of her wand, she summoned a tray from the other side of the room, one that Alice hadn't seen before if the look of confusion on the pint-sized vampire's face was any indication. "Blood shots," Hermione said, gesturing grandly to the tray now floating beside her. 

"Blood shots?" Rosalie asked curiously, picking one of the shot glasses up and examining the dark red liquid inside it. 

"Are they related at all to blood pops?" I asked, curiously. 

"No, blood pops are a mix of blood and sugar," Hermione said and I pulled a face, shuddering slightly at the thought. "Blood shots are a recipe I was given by that horrid vampire, Sanguini, at Slughorn's Christmas party. Well, technically it was blood wine he was drinking, but I was curious and asked him about it. I altered the recipe to use animal blood instead of human blood." 

"So it's alcohol that can actually affect us?" Alice asked, intrigued. "How is that even possible?"

"The blood is mixed with goblin wine." Hermione explained.

"That makes sense," Isobel said. Ginny nodded too, a look of understanding on her face. 

"For those of us who can't trace their ancestry back to their great-great-great grandparents?" I prompted, when no further explanation was offered.

"Goblin wine is the strongest alcoholic substance known on this earth." Isobel said. 

"It's about as similar to muggle wine as gold is to cats." Luna added, which didn't exactly tell us much, but was still interesting to know, much like a majority of Luna's little pieces of wisdom. 

"There's a lot of myth surrounding it," Ginny explained to us. "Like how a goblin can only have five shots in their entire life, or else they'll go mad and stay drunk until death."

"Witches and wizards don't know a lot about goblin traditions," Hermione said, "mostly because they loathe us. But we do know that most families would have a glass when their parents died, their first child was born and at their wedding."

"Is it safe for Alice and Rosalie?" I asked, now eyeing the tray of floating red shots warily. 

"Trust me," Hermione said, firmly. "I wouldn't have offered them if I wasn't absolutely certain. The goblin wine was a real bugger to try and get ahold of, though."   

"That probably had something to do with you breaking into their bank, stealing one of their dragons and destroying half of Gringotts on the way out." Ginny said, dryly. 

"Probably." Hermione agreed. 

"Well, I'm game," Alice said brightly, picking up one of the 'blood shots'. "Ready everyone?" 

"Let's do this," Ginny said, with a wide smile. Her cheeks were already flushed from alcohol and her brown eyes were bright and mischievous as she turned to face me. "Never have I ever... had a lap dance!" 

"Uh, you suck," I complained, before reaching over to the wide tray Alice had provided, filled with shot glasses containing either mint juleps or gin mixed with honey, keeping with the 'Great Gatsby' theme of the night. 

"Nope, never have I ever sucked someone off," Ginny shook her head. Angela groaned as she lifted one of the shots. Alice and Rosalie did too, while a blushing Katie raised a hand. 

"Does it count if, you know, you were giving head to a girl?" She asked, only stammering slightly.

"Angela will have to drink twice if it does," I grinned. Angela rolled her eyes but tossed back another shot obligingly, shuddering slightly. 

"Never have I ever eaten frog legs or snails or other weird foods like that," she said. 

"Does penguin blood count?" Alice wondered. We all stared at her– even Rosalie. "What?" She protested. "I was curious! It wasn't as bad as shark blood, though it was about equal to whale..."

"You are so weird," I said, shaking my head. "But I've had fresh-water plimpy soup, so," I picked up one of the shots and saluted her with it before drinking it.  

"Fresh-water plimpies?" Rosalie asked curiously, before shaking her head. "Actually, I don't want to know. Weird foods... Caviar is made of fish eggs, which I think qualifies it as weird, though it costs around a hundred dollars an ounce. Having it at your table was a real status symbol when I was still human." She tossed her golden hair and smirked, a curl of her red lips. "My parents liked to live above their station, they served it at nearly all of their dinner parties." 

"My mother made peanut butter steak once," Katie shuddered, drinking her shot. 

"Mum was pretty normal when it came to her cooking," Ginny said, with a slight shrug.

"Renée wasn't." I grimaced, before brightening. "Never have I ever walked in on my parents." Angela was the only one to drink this time. 

"I don't even want to  _think_  about that," she cringed as we all stared at her, and then she drank an extra shot for good measure. "Never have I ever gotten so sick that I've sworn off a particular food or type of alcohol... though that's probably going to change tomorrow." She added, with a giggle. 

"Urgh, I hate eating away my feelings." Ginny cringed, taking a shot. "I ate an entire cake by myself after Harry took Parvati to the Yule Ball." 

"Well, never have I ever eaten a whole cake or pizza by myself." Hermione said. 

"That's because bloody  _Viktor_   _Krum_  took  _you_  to the Yule Ball," Ginny grumbled. 

"Never have I ever ridden on a strange animal, like an elephant or a cow," Katie offered up. 

"Thestral," Luna, Ginny and I said at the same time. 

"Hippogriff," added Isobel, with a grin.

"This is getting too tame," Alice decided. "Somebody spice it up." 

"Well never have I ever lost part of my bathing suit." I said.

"Does it count if you lost it on purpose?" Rosalie asked with a smirk, then drank her shot anyway. 

"Never have I ever had sex outside," Angela announced, her body swaying slightly. 

"I don't know, does a tent count?" Hermione asked. 

After a brief debate it was decided that yes, a tent  _did_  count as outside. We didn't get much further then that, questions wise, as by this point the alcohol had really started to kick in. Angela's words were so badly slurred that no one could make out what she was saying, and Ginny wasn't far off. Then when it looked like the humans were all on their way to passing out, Alice and Rosalie had both decided to finish off the tray of blood shots. I only wished I'd stayed conscious long enough to really appreciate the utter hilariousness that was a drunk vampire, but someone came up with the brilliant idea of opening another bottle of champagne (I was pretty sure it had been me) and, well, the rest was history. 

It was also holding Angela's hair out of her face when she started vomiting, but... history worked too.

 


	3. Chapter 3

**OMAKE ONE:** _The Queen of the Damned - The Life of Athenodora, Part One_

Athenodora is born a princess; the youngest child and only daughter of Epaphroditos, the King of Athens.

She has two brothers, Heliodorus and Herpo. Heliodorus, the first born, is thrice-blessed by the gods. Golden haired, full-lipped and cheek-chiselled, the people of Athens only have to look at him to know he is handsome, intelligent and god-beloved; for in her world, beauty is a gift of the gods, as the people praise. It is a blessing, and everybody knows that a perfect exterior hides an inner perfection; a beautiful body direct evidence of a beautiful mind.

Herpo, the younger of her brothers, is an entirely different story. There has always been a wrongness to him, something ugly and unnatural. She has never liked him, never liked the way he always watches everyone with his swivelling eyes, or the way strange things happen around him.

She keeps her distance from him, from his unnaturalness, staying close to Heliodorus, who will one day be King of Athens.

And when that closeness grows to something more, something forbidden, well, who is she to argue with the machinations of ( _her own making_ ) fate? 

-

Athenodora watches Heliodorus bask and preen under the attention of their father's courtiers and hides her amusement behind a shy smile. He catches her gaze then and grins.

Heliodorus is learning the roles he is expected to play as King, when their father's reign comes to an end, and she is watching as he learns ( _learning what he learns, because no one expects a girl's pretty face to hide a razor-sharp mind_ ). 

Her smile turns real for one shining second before it fades back into the empty curve of lips she shows everyone else as he turns back to his future subjects. She directs her attention back to the pomegranate seeds she's been plucking from the fruit in lieu of conversing with anyone, though she watches under her eyelashes; observing the conversations meant to be overheard and the whispers in corners seeking to avoid attention. She is smart, smarter then her father, her mother and her dear Heliodorus know.

Herpo... she knows Herpo sees her, the way that no other member of her family does. It makes her equal parts furious and grateful that he is the only one who understands her.

-

Her life is one of privilege, she knows. She's a princess, doted on by her father, who is old but still healthy, and loved by the heir to the throne. Her mother died when she was still a young child and she's never missed her.

But easy as her life is, she isn't satisfied with just being the beautiful Princess of Athens. She wants power and respect, and after she fulfils her daily duties, simple as they are, she shadows Heliodorus as he fulfils his, watching and learning with clever eyes and a cunning mind.

When she feels the need to tighten her hold, it's easy enough to coax Heliodorus into a private chamber, and he is clay in her hands for her to shape and mould. The influence she holds over him continues to grow stronger and stronger, and yet nobody sees it, nobody but Herpo, and he stays silent.

He's gone more often then not now, anyway, though when he's around she keeps a close eye on him. She makes sure to always be aware of him, and sees him with strange scrolls, watches as his eyes flash red, his dark pupils cat-like in burning red, when only she is there to see it, and observes the way any servant, slave or commoner who catches his eye in some way soon disappears without trace.

But he keeps her secrets, so she keeps his. Her loathing never lessens, but they have an unspoken understanding between them.

-

Eventually their father dies and Heliodorus, her perfect, pretty puppet, ascends to the throne.

The first year of his ( _her_ ) reign passes, and the fact that Heliodorus has not chosen a wife is no longer being ignored. She knows this will be a delicate situation and is visiting other high-born noble women, looking to determine who is dull-witted enough to be unable to see past her machinations, when one of Heliodorus's advisors approaches her, lays a hand on her arm. His face is horrified and grief-stricken, but there is triumph in his eyes, and she does not believe the shock and mourning in his voice when he tells her that Heliodorus is dead.

She follows them numbly to the throne room where her brother is splayed on the hard floor, drenched in blood. Another man, a slave, lies dead nearby. Her voice is colder then ice as she demands to know what happened and they explain that the slave attacked the King with a knife and cut his throat before anyone could stop him.

She does not argue or deny their version of events, but she is a liar too, and she seethes and schemes behind her grieving silence.

-

Herpo is gone, having vanished over two years ago now, and she is told that she is to take the throne until a suitable heir is chosen.

The funeral is held and she lets them arrange for her to ascend to the throne while she watches with sharp, furious eyes for every whisper and glance that betrays those who had a hand in Heliodorus's death.

She spares those who were not involved in the plot, and makes her plans with the subtlety and surety born of the two decades she's lived, learning trickery and patience and cunning from those she's watched for years, those who made the mistake of teaching her everything she knew before they decided to end her brother's life.

The need for vengeance  _burns_  and  _burns_ , and four months after she is crowned, four months after Heliodorus is placed in his tomb, she throws a grand banquet for those who betrayed her brothers. They don't realise until too late and she sweeps from the room and the Royal Guard, hand-picked for the occasion ( _those stupid enough to be loyal to a Queen who would only lead them to damnation_ ) bar the doors. 

With a low-spoken word, she commands her Guard to hold back, determined that with her own hand she will perform the act of vengeance. She holds out a jewelled hand and is passed a flaming torch. 

She doesn't bother to hide her vicious glee and dark satisfaction from her Guard as her 'guests' die screaming, the sound of their agony as they burn alive carrying on for what seems like hours upon hours before finally going silent.

Once the last scream fades to nothing she instructs the guards to have any bodies still intact to be burned beyond recognition then disposed of- none of these men will get a funeral, none of them will be buried under their name. They are nothing, they will be buried as nothing; this she has ensured.

-

She doesn't expect to live long after.

The morning of the day following the massacre, the guests of the queen not having made their return, the citizens of Athens began to glower with dark suspicions.

She has already resolved to meet her inevitable death in a way that befits one of her rank, not at the filthy hands of a mob, from a dagger to the back in her court, or even the spectacle of an execution before her once-subjects.

Only, as she returns to her chambers, holding a golden goblet filled with poison-laced wine in her jewelled fingers, Herpo, the brother she hadn't seen in nearly three years, slinks from the shadows.

"I can make you powerful." He says, his slick voice like poisoned honey. "I can make you a god."

She doesn't even have to think twice. Because despite how  _intimately_  she and Heliodorus had known each other, there was none in this world who knew her better then Herpo.

The sorcery he uses to transport them to a temple she has never seen before, and in less time then it takes to blink, makes her head spin sickeningly and her eyes feel like they're being pushed to the back of her skull. There is a man in the temple, bound by ropes of shining silver light, and she thinks he must be a god, because he is the most glorious being she has ever seen; beautiful beyond compare.

Herpo forces the god to bite her with teeth sharper then the edge of a freshly-whetted dagger and for three long days and nights she burns and burns and burns.

And when the flames are gone, and she opens her eyes, she Thirsts for more then power and vengeance.

Herpo hasn't made her a god, he has made her a monster, and she can only laugh at that because she has always been a monster, anyway.

-

-

-

**CHAPTER THREE:**

 

Consciousness came slowly and with all the delicacy of a sledgehammer smashing into my skull. 

Wincing at the dryness in my throat, I groaned miserably and threw an arm over my eyes to shield them from the light that appeared intent on causing me mortal injury, if the sharp stabs of pain in my head were anything to go by.

What had I done to myself? I wondered bleakly. This was officially the Grand Canyon of hangovers– I hadn't even known this sort of drink-induced agony as possible. I slowly turned onto my back, holding my breath as the pounding in my temples increased in intensity before settling back down.

I wanted nothing more then to go back to the blissful and painlessness that was unconsciousness, but now that I was awake I was suddenly very aware of my need to pee. 

I sat up slowly, groaning as the pain intensified. When my body finally acclimated to its almost vertical position, I focused on what was before me, and three things struck me, almost simultaneously. 

One, I was wearing considerably less clothes then I remembered.

Two, I was still in the room Alice had decked out for my bachelorette party, the floor of which was now covered in gold-colored sleeping bags that, if I had to guess, had some sort of cushioning charm on them because apart from the pain of the hangover, my body felt like I'd spent the night sleeping on a cloud, not hard mahogany floorboards. 

And three, Jacob's face was only a few inches away from mine. 

The sound I made was not in any way dignified, but at least it had Jacob leaning back, his nose wrinkling. 

"Wow, your breath stinks." He commented. "And you look like shit," he added, looking me up and down. I was in too much pain to really be offended. "How do you feel?"

"I have reason to believe I died at some point during the night." 

Jacob laughed. "Yeah, my first hangover was a bitch."

"Not my first." I groaned. "Just the worst one yet. Wait, are you even old enough to drink? I'm not even old enough to drink... in America, anyway. Are we still in America?" 

Thinking hurt. 

"We're still in America." Jacob confirmed. "And I was fourteen."

"Fourteen?!" I echoed, a little stunned.

"I know, I know, I started late. Just work on staying conscious, Bells, I'll find you some water." Jacob said, sympathetically. I frowned and tried to make my brain think past the pain.

"What are you even doing here?" 

"Ah," he said. "Well. There's a situation." I felt my stomach twist in something other then nausea. 

"A situation?" I echoed. 

"One of the bloodsucking variety." I massaged my temples.

"Jacob, I am way too hungover now to try and make words happen. Just tell me what's going on." 

"Two bloodsuckers came to visit the Cullens, about an hour ago." Jacob said, getting straight to the point, much to my relief. "And I can call them that, because they're not vegetarians." He added, a bit defensively. At this point I couldn't care less what he called anyone but speaking required effort so I just made a 'go on' gesture with my hand. "Sorry Bells, that's all I have." Jacob said, with a shrug. "I haven't even seen them– Luna's boyfriend teleported over to tell me to stay away from the mansion because they don't want any incidents."

"Shit." I groaned. "Did you get the names from him at least?" 

"Yeah, one– Peter." Jacob answered. I felt myself loosen up slightly and exhaled. 

"Okay, okay, that's... that's good news." I decided. "Peter is an old friend of Jasper's, so he shouldn't hurt anyone." That didn't change the uneasiness I felt about the fact that only Jasper, Alice and Edward were living in the mansion right now– though if Rosalie was still here, then Emmett probably was too. Five against two made me feel much better then three against two. 

Speaking of Alice and Rosalie, I looked around the room again, moving my head slowly so as to not increase the pain. Neither vampire was here, but they were the only ones from the party missing– all the others were in sleeping bags, still fast asleep like I wished I still was. 

Making up my mind, though, I used Jacob to help myself stand up only to immediately regret it when, belatedly, I remembered my earlier observation about my missing clothes– my dress seemed to have disappeared, though I was still wearing my bra, panties, stockings and one shoe. 

"Do I get to ask?" Jacob asked, grinning as I nearly made myself throw up I bent over so quickly to grab the sleeping bag in order to wrap it around myself to give at least the illusion of decency. 

"I think Isobel, Katie and I tried playing strip poker," I said, because it was honestly a blur after 'never have I ever'. "Except none of us knew how to play poker, so we just... drank and took turns taking off our clothes." 

Jacob laughed and I scowled at him. He waggled his eyebrows obnoxiously. "Well, speaking of clothing removal, were there any strippers?" he asked, slyly. Now  _that_  memory was definitely not a blur and I could feel my cheeks burning just at the memory. Jacob whistled. "That good, huh?" 

"He was... a very good dancer." I admitted. 

"God, I'd love to date a stripper." Jacob said, wistfully. 

"Before last night, I would have judged you so hard for that," I told him as I looked around for my dress– or, even better, something to wear that didn't come from the 1920's. 

"The way I see it, dating a stripper is like eating a noisy bag of chips in church." Jacob said. "Everyone looks at you in disgust, but deep inside they want some to." 

"If I got Edward an instruction DVD, I wonder how good he could get before the honeymoon," I mused. I was expecting Jacob to make some sort of disgusted noise or sarcastic comment, so when he didn't say anything at all, it was enough to make me pause and turn around.

Jacob was looking at me with a... strange look on his face. Tense, and angry in a way I hadn't seen it for some time. "Jacob?" I asked, confused and wary. "What is it?"

"You're planning on having a real honeymoon," he said, slowly. "As in; you, the squishy, breakable human, is planning on having sex with a fucking  _vampire_." 

This, I decided, was a perfect example of when lying was absolutely the right thing to do.

"It's not like we haven't done it before," I fibbed, and the lie threw Jacob off his outraged horror enough that I knew I'd made the right choice. Still– " _not_  that it's any of your business." I added, pointedly. 

Jacob sighed and ran a hand through his hair. It was getting long again, past his ears now. "Sorry, I'm sorry," he said. "I'm really trying, Bella. I know he's... not a bad guy." The admittance looked like it came easier then Jacob thought it would going by the slight surprise I could see in his dark eyes. "But the idea of him hurting you because of what he is really,  _really_  pisses me off. And I... honestly, I am still not okay with this. You are like a sister to me, Bella. A smoking hot sister who I'd love to have sex with–"

" _Jacob_!" 

"–but I am trying to be accepting your relationship so I won't go threaten to rip him apart if he so much as leaves a bruise on you."

"What if I want him to?" I scowled, pointing to the riding crop, still on the table, alongside my other...  _gifts_. The expression on Jacob's face was priceless; he looked like he wanted to throw up, his russet skin had paled dramatically and his eyes were wide as galleons and absolutely horrified. I decide to put him out of his misery. "Don't look so disturbed, I'm not into that sort of stuff– not that that is any of your business, because my sex life isn't your business. Got it?"

"Fine." Jacob agreed, grumpily. 

"Good," Ginny lifted her head to glare blearily at us both. "Now both of you shut up or get out." 

"Sorry," I apologize for waking her. Scanning the room again, I finally spot my dress and I kick off the one shoe I'm still wearing so I don't trip and break my ankle while crossing the room to get it. "Turn around and close your eyes," I whispered to Jacob. 

"Why? I've already seen it all." Jacob whispered back. The glare I gave him could have stripped paint off the walls and Jacob hastily spun around so his back was to me. Getting into the dress was much trickier without Alice's help, but Jacob oh-so generously offered to do up the zip for me. If I hadn't been so desperate, I would have kicked him in the shin. 

Angela, Katie and Isobel had either slept through my entire conversation with Jacob or, like Ginny, had woken up but then fallen back asleep. Hermione and Luna, though, had both stood up, and a visibly wincing Hermione crossed the room, to where Jacob and I were standing, Luna, who looked frustratingly relaxed and refreshed and hangover-free, only a half dozen steps behind her. 

"Here," she said tiredly, flicking her wand to summon a small beaded bag from god knows where it had ended up last night. From inside it, she fished out two glass phials. "Hangover remedy," she said, and I couldn't get it down my throat fast enough. It tasted like melted rubber, but when the sharp stabbing pains in my head and the sloshy feeling in my stomach slowly but surely started to lessen I could have cried in relief. 

I still had to go to the bathroom though. 

"I need to get back to Britain," Hermione said with a small groan after casting a tempus charm– it was just past eleven; well, in American time, anyway. My newly pain-free brain was still moving too slowly to bother figuring out the math for the time zone differences. "I have a meeting with Kingsley this afternoon."

"Good luck," I said and she laughed.

"Thank you, I'll certainly need it today– we're discussing the situation with the centaurs, and it's an utter bloody nightmare."

"I thought they helped in the final battle against You-Know– against  _Voldemort_." I corrected myself, trying not to flinch at the sound of his name, terrifying even coming from my own lips.

"They did," Hermione sighed, visibly frustrated and resigned, "but they still want about as much to do with wizards now as they did before Voldemort."

"So, nothing at all?" 

"Nothing at all," she agreed. "Kingsley and I have put together a team that is currently working on European recognition and elevation of different creatures to the status of personhood, and to be honest the whole project has been much more of a challenge then I originally anticipated. Not only are a truly maddening amount of magical communities unwilling to negotiate, but the centaurs have rejected all human-related contact and practices– they responded to the last negotiators we sent with threats of physical and sexual violence to both them and any future negotiators. We're trying to decide whether we should cease the attempts or try to gain some sort of leverage."

"Wow," I said, blinking. "That... wait, did you say  _sexual_   _violence_?" Hermione laughed at the look of bemused horror on my face. 

"You've never read muggle mythology about centaurs, have you?" she asked. I shook my head. "Well, muggles tend to get more right then witches and wizards give them credit." Her smile suddenly turned very sly. "Back in fifth year, when Minerva asked if I'd known what was going to happen to Umbridge when I led her to the Forbidden Forest and got her to insult centaurs to their faces, I could very truthfully admit that no book I'd read at Hogwarts had even indicated to me that such a thing could happen."

"You are my hero." I blurted out before my brain to mouth filter could kick in. I instantly blushed, but Hermione blushed too. 

"Thank you, Bella." She said, pink-cheeked but pleased-looking. "Really, it all started with the objection I had towards house elf slavery, something I planned to have abolished before returning to Hogwarts. The initial problem with the elves, though, was that they were so terrified of freedom, and it's a proven fact that they need something to do. We ended up negotiating to enable them to take jobs such as healing, enchantments, reconstruction and restaurant-owning, in order to provide avenues of work other than serving. And after the eventual success we had with the elves, well, it just made sense to continue– 'near human intelligence' is the most ridiculous thing I've heard! The mission's ultimate goal is for all of Europe to recognize these species of "creature" status as "beings" instead, though we can only make the legal changes in Britain and Scotland." 

"How are you doing all that on top of your seventh year at Hogwarts?" I asked in disbelief. 

Hermione had chosen to return to Hogwarts, when the term had started. I had decided against returning, instead turning my focus to muggle universities. Luna, seeing as Draco was banned from Britain and was unable to return to Hogwarts, had decided against going back too.

"I'd already arranged with Minerva to spend weekends away from the castle," Hermione said, and I nodded, because a lot of the seventh years who'd returned were doing the same thing. "So most of the work I contribute to the project is either by owl or on Saturdays and Sundays, though Minerva has said that her floo is always open to me and I have had to use it occasionally for necessary meetings. Technically speaking, though, I'm not even doing it in an official capacity, seeing as I've resigned as Senior Undersecretary." I nodded again, because I remembered the conversation we'd had about that, months ago now, where she'd said she hadn't wanted to hold the position while she was attending Hogwarts because she wanted to be able to give her all to whatever she was doing. "Honestly though," Hermione sighed, "Hogwarts is just... there's nothing there to  _challenge_  me, so when Kingsley said I could still contribute to the project, well, I leapt at the opportunity." 

"That's amazing," I told her, because it was, and she smiled again. 

"Thank you. I hope you had a wonderful time last night– I certainly did." 

"I had a brilliant time," I assured her and she smiled again. 

"The next time I see you, you'll be wearing white." She said. "I look forward to it." 

"Yeah, me too," I admitted. "But don't tell Alice that." She laughed– as did Luna, who until now had been a silent presence, along with Jacob. 

"Gryffindor's honor," Hermione promised, before smiling at us in farewell and twisting sharply on the spot, disappearing with a small  _pop_.

"She's going to change the world." Luna said, suddenly. I glanced over at her and a small shiver rolled up my spine as I saw how her silvery eyes were practically glowing, their radiance an almost eerie contradiction to how dreamy and absent her face was. 

"Any idea why the sudden visit from Jasper's old coven mates?" I asked, my words coming out on the breathless side. Luna tilted her head, her eyes losing some of the almost-unnatural glow as she came back from wherever she'd gone, back to the present. 

"A decision," she said. "An important one." 

"Whose decision?" I pressed, worrying my lower lip with my teeth. Luna's eyes focused on mine, her lips, still faintly smudged red, curving down unhappily. 

"Yours." 

"That's... really ominous." I said, swallowing again. Luna looked solemn as she held out a small hand. I reached over and entwined my fingers with hers, attempting a smile. 

"Ready to find out what's going on?" I asked. Jacob cleared his throat loudly. 

"Just reminding you I'm still here." He said when I spun around to glare at him, my heart pounding a jagged rhythm in my chest. 

"You're such an arsehole!" I snapped, pretending that I hadn't actually forgotten him– he had been very silent, which was very unlike him. Still, I let go of Luna's hand when he held out his expectantly. "Meet you there?" I said and Luna nodded, her smile being the last thing I saw as I twisted, apparating Jacob and I back to the Cullen's mansion, where our unexpected visitors waited.

I chose to appear about halfway up the Cullen's very long driveway instead of straight into the house, figuring that the short walk would give everyone inside the mansion enough warning to prepare for us. Luna, of course, managed to apparate directly to my side, despite me not having shared my thoughts with her– the jibberwabbs had told her, probably. Or possibly nargles. Or even some opalspoors– I remembered her mentioning once about needing an army of those to watch over me, and I honestly wouldn't be surprised if she'd actually found one too. 

I was still holding on to Jacob so I could feel the faint tremor in his hands as we made our way up to the mansion. He was breathing through his mouth, and I squeezed his hand in silent thanks. 

The front door to the mansion was open, and as I stepped in, wand gripped tight in the hand not still holding on to Jacob. Jacob was visibly twitchy and ready to step between Luna and I and the red-eyed vampires in a heartbeat if necessary. His tremors had increased in strength, and I was honestly surprised and impressed by the tight control he was showing over his phasing. 

"Bella," Edward said, walking over to where the three of us stood in the doorway, clearly projecting each movement he was making to an obviously on edge Jacob. His expression was strained but he still greeted me with a soft kiss, a delicate press of his lips, cool and light as rippling silk, against mine. 

"What's going on?" I asked, going for a light tone but missing by miles, my eyes drawn back to the two perfectly motionless figures on the other side of the room. Rosalie, Alice and Emmett were standing near the foot of the stairs, while Jasper and the two strangers stood close to the piano. 

The female, Charlotte, was tiny and sweet-faced, maybe even shorter than Alice, which was a feat in itself. Her blonde locks were a similar shade to Rosalie's, but she wore hers cropped pixie-short. Peter, on the other hand, had long, dark hair which fell messily around his face, and had the same tall and lanky frame as Jasper– Maria, apparently, had had a type when it came to her soldiers. 

Jasper was radiating the sort of authority that I'd only seen him wear once before, after the fight with Victoria's newborn army. Peter and Charlotte were clearly submissive towards him, but they were struggling to keep their faces blank as they looked at me, and I had to hold back a shiver at the muted anger directed toward me in both their eyes. I didn't understand why they'd be upset at me, but figured it had to do with the reason for their surprise visit. The uneasiness in my stomach grew, and my eyes flicked up to Edward as he answered my question. 

"Peter and Charlotte came to pass on a message," he said. "A warning." A hint of a growl was present in the last word, and I felt my body stiffen.

"Are they threatening us?" I demanded, my wand twitching in their direction. The woman– Charlotte– let out a sound that might have been the start of a snarl, but Jasper made a low warning sound and it died off in her throat before it could turn into anything. Peter was the one who spoke.

"There are whispers going around," he said, a faint Southern curl to his words. "Everyone knows what happened to the Volturi, and the word is that the Cullens and a human mate are involved. In the past two months, three of the armies in the South have been destroyed, as well as two covens. There are only a handful of survivors, and they're all saying that it's  _humans_  doing the killing; humans with strange, powerful Gifts. One vampire even tried to drain of one of her attackers except the blood caused her to burn to death from inside out. Everyone is starting to get scared and they're starting to get angry; someone has told them Jasper's coven has brought this down on us all, the anger of these- these  _sorcerers_ , and I've already heard talk of retribution." 

I realized I should probably be more afraid of the idea of vampires possibly coming after the Cullens, but the fear would come later. Right now, I realized, I was more furious then anything else. 

"It's not the Cullen's fault they're being rounded up to be put down," I said, and I was surprised my voice wasn't trembling I was so enraged. "You all brought this down on yourselves."

"What did we do?" Charlotte spoke up, animosity thick in her sweet voice as she glared at me hotly. But there was fear in her eyes too. "What did we all do to deserve being hunted down?" She demanded, shrilly. 

"Oh let me think," I said, sarcastically, "it could be to do with the fact you're all murderers?" 

"We're  _vampires_ ," she responded, in disbelief. "We've only ever followed our natural diet!" 

"Well now the humans are fighting back, and you only have yourselves to blame." I said, looking across at them both with all the coldness and disgust I could muster– and there was a lot. "You don't have to murder to live, you  _choose_  to. And you have a new choice to make now, because if you don't switch to animal blood, you'll soon be as dead as all those humans you treat as nothing better then walking happy meals, and you'll deserve nothing better then to burn for all those lives you've destroyed; for all the families you've torn apart, the children you've left orphaned, the husbands and wives you've left widowed, all the people whose hearts you've shattered because you're awful, selfish, sorry excuses for a carbon-based life form who don't deserve this second chance I'm going to give you. If you weren't Jasper's friends, I'd kill you now myself to save the Ministry's time. But you  _are_  Jasper's friends, so I'm giving you the chance you never gave your victims– I'll talk to the Ministry about sparing your lives, but you will not leave this room, either of you, without making an unbreakable vow that you'll never murder a single human again." 

Shimmering silver ropes of light burst into existence, and spitting snarls escaped Peter and Charlotte as they turned their heads– the only parts of their body they could move– to where Luna, a few feet across from me, stood with her wand out-stretched, smiling sharply at them, her silver eyes uncharacteristically sharp. "Shall we get started?" She asked sweetly.

 

**A/N: Athenodora's story is based on Tennessee Williams' first published work, a 1928 short story called " _The Vengeance of Nitocris_ ", the story of the sister of an Egyptian Pharaoh's careful plan for revenge after her brother is murdered by his subjects. Historians aren't sure whether or not Nitocris actually existed, but according to " _The Histories of Herodotus_ ", she invited the murderers of her brother, the 'king of Egypt', to a banquet, then killed them by flooding the sealed room with the Nile then committed suicide. ~ _Cheshire Carroll_**


	4. Chapter 4

**CHAPTER FOUR:**

 

It had been easy enough to  _persuade_  Peter and Charlotte to make the Unbreakable Vow– seeing as their only alternative was death, they hadn't given much (or any) protest. Now if they ever killed a human again, they would die– even if it was an accident. Sure, maybe that was a touch on the ruthless side, but considering the number of humans they'd had to have killed to feed over the hundred plus years they'd been alive, I didn't have any sympathy left for them. Practically the opposite, in fact. 

But then Alice had mentioned that Carlisle had friends too, other vampires that fed from humans and that he would be eager to discuss making similar arrangements with them, Unbreakable Vows in trade for their lives. And the thought of arranging that had me... reluctant. 

"I don't want to," I admitted aloud, needing to tell someone. Edward and I were in my bedroom– I'd left the mansion after Luna and I had cast the Vow binding the two vampires, not wanting to stay around Peter and Charlotte any longer then I had to, not with the amount of loathing and disgust I felt toward them both.

Edward, sitting next to me on my bed beside me, looked understandably confused by my seemingly random statement. 

"You don't have to do anything you don't want to." Was his first response to my confession, though, because  _of course_  it was, and the warm rush of gratitude I felt toward him made me momentarily breathless. 

"Sweet Circe, I love you," I said, wrapping my arms around him tight. His arms came up to crush me gently to his chest, and his cold lips brushed against my forehead. 

"What is it you don't want to do, love?" He murmured, and I bit my lip. 

"I don't want to save them. Carlisle's... well, his  _friends_ ," I said, and it was a shameful admittance but it was the truth, and I quickly rushed to explain myself. "I just– I  _know_  that an eye for an eye makes the whole world blind, but they  _chose_  to feed on humans; they knew they didn't have to, but they  _did_. And now... now they're the human in the equation, and I'm the vampire, and I want them to be just as helpless as their prey." I shook my head and let out a short, bitter laugh. "They never showed any mercy, so why should I?" 

I looked down at my hands as Edward stayed quiet for a long moment, before finally speaking up, using a hand to tilt my chin up so I was looking him in the eye. "You've seen terrible things in your life, and terrible things have happened to and around you," he said, softly. "It's only natural that it's made you more jaded then you once were."

"Well, what doesn't kill you makes you stronger, right?" I sighed, my shoulders slumping forward. Edward frowned.

"That's not true. Not always. Trauma that doesn't kill you can be devastating to a person's physical, mental and emotional wellbeing. It can erode happiness, the ability to trust, self-confidence and the willingness to love... it can make a person jaded, self-destructive, apathetic and devaluate either themselves or others, and I'm not sure which of those is worse."

"So basically I'm destined to become a vengeful, frightened, dangerous shell of a being," I said, only half joking. 

" _Never_ ," Edward responded fiercely, pulling me tight against him again. "What I'm saying is that you can't expect yourself to be the same person you were before these past couple of years happened." 

"Before I would have wanted to save as many lives as I could," I said. "But now...  _now_  I'm just so bloody tired of it and I want them to all burn because it's what they deserve for what they've done, and the last thing I feel like doing right now is to figure out some way to ask the Ministry not to kill certain vampires and then figure out how the Ministry is even supposed to identify which ones to, you know,  _not_  kill, and for Merlin's sake I just don't want to get involved at all in this bloody mess– pun not intended!" 

"You don't have to be further involved, Bella," Edward said, gently, running a cool hand up and down my spine soothingly. "You're one hundred percent correct that this is not your job. There must be others who can sort through this mess– Hermione, for example; surely dealing with vampires has to be less complicated then dealing with centaurs." I let out a surprised laugh, again pulling back slightly so I could look him in the eye. 

"I... I hadn't really thought of that." I confessed, latching eagerly onto the idea, though a sudden thought distracted me. "Wait, where did you even hear about the centaur issue?"

"Jacob was thinking about it, earlier," Edward explained, his lips curving up slightly, before his expression turned  _oh-so_  very earnest again. "Let's talk to Hermione," he urged. "We can explain the situation to her then hand over the reins, so by this time tomorrow all we have to worry about is us, and our wedding." 

"And our honeymoon," I added, with a slight grin. "Don't forget the honeymoon."

"Oh, believe me, Bella," Edward murmured, his eyes suddenly a brilliant, burning gold. "I haven't." I shivered, a thrill of anticipation licking down my spine.

"Feel like getting in some practice?" I asked, my voice annoyingly breathy. Edward just growled in response, then his lips pressed to mine and I forgot about how the survival of all of Carlisle's vampire friends was currently resting on my shoulders and instead focused on being young, in love and horny. Very horny. 

- 

"Alright," Hermione said, once I'd outlined the situation to her, as well as a vague plan. "This isn't going to be easy." Despite her words, she was smiling and there was a gleam in her eyes that I found very promising– remembering what she said earlier about being bored at Hogwarts, I wasn't sure why I'd been so uncertain about contacting her about this; clearly, she was dying for a challenge. 

We, and by 'we' I meant her, Luna, Draco, Edward and I, were sitting down at my dining room table, Hermione having conjured up two extra chairs. The bushy-haired witch was now tapping her bottom lip thoughtfully with a finger, and I could practically  _see_  the speed in which her mind was making and discarding various plans. 

"The Unbreakable Vow is definitely the best way to go about it," she said, finally. "The European ministries have set up a joint task-force to go about hunting down and dismantling vampire covens, as well as starting compromises with other ministries in the International Confederation of Wizards to get permission to hunt down the vampires in their jurisdictions and we haven't had any issues with that so far– nobody likes vampires." She gave Edward an apologetic look as she said that. "We'd have to come up with a way to get the vampires willing to make the Vow to turn 'vegetarian' to contact the task-force, though before that we'd need to actually convince the different governments to spare any vampires who Vow to stop drinking human blood. This is... this is going to take a lot of convincing." She admitted. "It would be different if it was just the British Ministry, I have enough influence there, but as well as the governments who have given permission for the task-force to operate within their boundaries, there are currently five different ministries directly involved in the task-force and I happen to know there are negotiations in place for one of the West Asian ministries to join as the sixth, beginning the process of turning the Europe-wide vampire cull to world-wide."

I winced, most of my hope for an easy-fix to this whole situation gone. "I'm going to need to learn more about international magical politics before making a case," Hermione decided, her mouth setting in a determined line. "Actually, I'm going to need formal training in politics in general." Draco cleared his throat.

"My– my mother, she– she's a lot smarter then people think." He said, his ears turning pink as we all turned to look at him. "She got ten OWLS at Hogwarts, but she chose not to focus on academics. Instead, she became the perfect society wife and so many people thought that was a waste, but what they don't see is the art form she's made it into. She observes, listens, calculates and stalks information and people, all while hiding behind her perfect, polished act. She taught me how to move, how to listen, how to smile, what body language to use and when. What to say, who to say it to, when to say it, and so, so much more. If you want training in how to act like a politician and use words to get what you want from someone who isn't an old wrinkly crone from the Wizengamot or Longbottom's grandmother, then she's the one you should go to." 

"And do you think she'll actually consider teaching  _me_?" Hermione arched an eyebrow. She didn't add 'a _muggleborn'_ , but it was heavily implied. Draco's cheeks pinked.

"I don't know," he said, honestly, "but she must be very bored in prison, maybe bored enough to consider it." 

"Well," Hermione said, thoughtfully, "it's worth a shot, I suppose." She then laughed suddenly and, seeing our looks, she shrugged, a smile playing on her face. "This just reminded me, Scrimgeour once asked if I was planning to follow a career in Magical Law." She said. "I told him I wasn't because I was hoping to do some good in the world." 

"Oh  _his face_ ," I said, gleefully, thinking back to our very brief Minister of Magic after Fudge was sacked; Rufus Scrimgeour had looked like an old lion with his yellowish eyes, streaks of grey in his mane of tawny hair and bushy eyebrows, and immediate impression of shrewdness and toughness. The thought of the stupefied expression he must have worn... 

"I know he probably did his best," Hermione admitted, "but the Ministry was already falling, and he chose to focus on investigating the gifts Dumbledore left Harry, Ron and I in his Will, rather then building up the Auror force, preparing the public the best he could and protecting the more vulnerable members of our society, like those poor first year muggleborns." 

I cringed at that, thinking about those excited eleven-year-olds who'd just learned magic was real finding themselves thrust into a hellish nightmare when the Death Eaters started rounding them up, along with all other muggleborns, to either kill or imprison them. Not that imprisonment was any better a fate then immediate execution– no child could survive the black, sucking vortex of misery and despair that was Azkaban. 

"And," Hermione added through a stiff jaw, her eyes like chips of ice as her hands clenched into fists. "Maybe I wouldn't have been tortured." 

Draco's whole body flinched, his face turning white as he hunched over, and Luna reached over to clasp his clenched hands in hers. The hard line of Hermione's jaw softened slightly as she turned in her seat to face him. "Dumbledore left the sword Bellatrix was torturing me wanting information about to Harry in his Will," she said, quietly, and I could see the dawning understanding on his face. My face felt frozen, like all the blood had drained from it. I knew vaguely what she was talking about– she'd been tortured at Malfoy Manor, before Harry and Ron had rescued her, freeing Luna in the process– but I hadn't known it was  _Bellatrix_  who had tortured her. "Scrimgeour, though, he refused to hand it over. If he had, then maybe," she shook her head and the laugh that escaped her was rather bitter sounding, but the set of her jaw was determined. "Well, there's no point worrying about 'ifs' or 'maybes'," she said, resolutely. "And perhaps it worked out for the best, anyway. Without our encounter with Bellatrix, we may never have known we had to break into Gringotts."

"I still can't believe you actually broke into freaking  _Gringotts_ ," I said. Glancing over at a very under-whelmed Edward, I tried to explain, "Gringotts is– it's  _impossible_  to break into. Nobody ever has. Well, nobody ever  _had_ , not for thousands of years, until Hermione, Ron and Harry did. And they flew out on a bloody  _dragon_!" Hermione's face twisted into a scowl and I could see the sudden angered flush on her cheeks.

"It was horrible!" she said, fiercely. "The conditions they kept the dragons in– absolutely frightful! The poor things were burned, whipped, blinded and chained underground, and for who knows how many decades– or centuries, even! Charlie– Ron's brother– managed to catch the dragon we released after the battle, a Ukrainian Ironbelly, and took it back to a shelter in Romania. He told us later that she's over three hundred years, but her growth is severely stunted from malnutrition and vitamin D deficiency."

"When you say dragons," Edward interrupted, his face fascinated, "are you talking about large lizard-like creatures with wings that can fly and breathe fire?" 

"Oh yes," Hermione said, with a smile. "They're rather amazing creatures, but also incredibly dangerous– their eggs are Class A Non-Tradable Goods, and the muggle Prime Minister must be notified when they're imported into England." 

"Wait, so how did Gringotts get their hands on a dragon then?" I asked, frowning. 

"I don't know," Hermione said, grimly, "but I'm going to find out. And then I'm going to bring them down." She stood then, brushing down the sides of her immaculate business-suit style dress she must have changed into for her meeting with the Minister. "The vampire situation will have to come first, though." She said. "I already have a pass for Azkaban, and I don't think I'll need to owl ahead. I can't imagine she has any visitors."

"Can you tell her I miss her," Draco said, suddenly. His expression was very awkward as we all looked over at him, but it was also very genuine. "I– I wrote to explain why I can't visit, but... do you think you could tell her too, about my banishment from Britain?" 

"I," Hermione looked a little awkward too as she turned to face Draco. "I will." She said. His small but very relieved smile but something twinge uncomfortably in my chest.

"Thank you, Granger." He said, and Hermione sighed.

"You may as well call me Hermione. I have a feeling we'll be seeing a lot more of each other then we ever thought we would." Draco laughed slightly at that.

"Okay. And please call me Draco."

I glanced over at Luna, who was, predictably, beaming at them both. I bit back an audible sigh. I was trying to get over my issues with Draco, I really was, but years of resentment don't go away quickly. I've spent these last few months getting to know him better, but I still have too many memories of the way he treated not just Luna and I, but so many other of my peers at Hogwarts, for being 'blood-traitors' and 'halfbloods' and Hufflepuffs and, of course,  _mudbloods_. 

But he was trying, so I was too. 

-

When Hermione left, a check outside the window showed it was pouring with rain. I'd be worried about the fact my wedding was only two days away and the weather was absolutely miserable if I didn't know that Alice had done all the planning– the weather would be perfect for my special day.

For now, however, it was good staying inside weather, and that was how Alice strode briskly in on Edward, Luna, Draco and I buried under a pile of blankets with a bowl of popcorn. "Buffy the Vampire Slayer?" she asked as she looked over at the screen, her voice long-suffering. I threw a piece of popcorn at her which she caught neatly with her teeth before flicking it back over to hit me on the head, winking at me when I scowled. 

"What are you doing here?" I grumbled. Her perfect, pretty smile widened. 

"It's time for the final fittings." She said, sounding far too pleased about it. "Charlie will be home in seven and a half minutes."

"Oh great." I winced. Her eyes narrowed, before flicking over to Edward. "Right, you'll have to leave." She said, briskly. "Can't have you getting a peek." Edward, knowing better then to disobey Alice when she was this intense, stood up, carefully rearranging the blankets as he did so, so that they didn't slide off me. 

"I'll see you soon," he promised, leaning over to kiss my cheek. I turned my head so I could catch him in a proper kiss and relaxed into the sensation of my lips moving lazily against his until Alice cleared her throat loudly and we had to break apart. 

"Do you mind apparating me back to the mansion?" Edward asked Draco politely. Draco nodded, sliding out from under the blankets and standing up too.

"Of course," he said, offering a hesitant smile. My lips tightened into a thin line and I had to turn away, not wanting Draco to see the expression. Because  _damn it_ , I was trying! 

Alice, the only one who did notice my expression, took it in an entirely different way. "You'd think I was going to shove bamboo splinters up your nails," she complained, "come on, up, up, up– it's not going to take long." 

Giving Edward a last mournful look– he pressed his lips together, looking like he was trying not to laugh, the utter  _bastard_ – I reluctantly followed Alice up to my bedroom. She'd obviously been here longer then I thought because my wedding dress, still in the protective bag, was draped over the bed. 

I shut my eyes before I stripped down to my underwear and held my arms out straight– the last thing I felt like now was getting a complex about how I looked, about all my scars– but when the slip and slide of satin over my skin was done, I opened them to exam my reflection in the full-length mirror inside the wardrobe. 

The bridal gown was stunning, of course. It was ivory-colored with an old-fashioned design; long laced sleeves, delicate floral accents and intricate beading. Fitted through the hips then flaring down to the floor, the tulle skirts rustled as I walked and twirled and flared as Alice instructed me to spin. "Perfect." She said, sounding oh-so very satisfied. I very carefully didn't laugh at her cat-got-the-cream look, turning back to give the mirror an appraising look. Through it, I saw Alice tilt her head suddenly. "Hermione will be here in ten minutes." She informed me. "Charlie needs his fitting, though, so you'll have to take her to go talk at the mansion." 

"Aye, aye, cap'n," I agreed. Once the gown was back in the bag, I picked up my wand to cast a quick tempus– it had been nearly three hours since Hermione had left. I made my way down the stairs again. Draco was back from apparating Edward to the mansion and I rejoined him and Luna on the couch until Hermione arrived. 

She was looking windswept and cold, but she didn't look unhappy or upset, which had to be a good sign. Hopefully. 

Remembering Alice's request, I hastily stood up and explained. It only took a minute for us all to go from my tiny lounge-room to the miles long dining-table at the Cullen's mansion, where I knew they held family meetings. 

"Is mother okay?" Draco asked, anxiously, as Hermione cast a warming charm on her hands. 

"She's fine, Malf- Draco." Hermione assured him. "Do you know she insulted my blood heritage three times in the first five minutes without actually mentioning the words 'mudblood', 'blood', 'heritage' or 'muggle'? It was so subtle I didn't even realize she was doing it at first."

"Mother has refined the art of the subtle insult to perfection over the years," Draco said with a note of pride in his voice. "She can insult a person's lineage, personality, family, house and wardrobe while politely offering them a cup of tea. Other pureblood families used to send their daughters to her for lessons in etiquette."

"And just when I thought purebloods couldn't get even more messed up," I said, though I couldn't help being a little fascinated by this insight into the bizarre workings of the pureblood upper class. 

"Did she agree to help?" Draco asked, a bit anxiously. 

"She did." Hermione confirmed. "She even smiled."

"Really?" Draco asked, shocked. 

"I was just as startled as you are," Hermione agreed, before shaking her head. "That woman is a master at misdirection and manipulation, terrifyingly so." She admitted, and Draco looked even prouder. "She's already warned me that she's harsh and unforgiving in her lessons, which will be more complicated then I could possibly imagine. I promised her I'd excel, if only out of sheer stubbornness." 

"Oh you'll need it." Draco said, and there was a softness to his features that spoke of the love he felt for his mother. Just another thing to make him seem so much more human. 

"We'll be meeting again tomorrow for a lengthy discussion, then I'll be taking our proposal to Kingsley," Hermione said, "I'll have to get him to agree to the plan first, as well as the Wizengamot, before I can even start on convincing foreign governments. But that's not for you to worry about," she added, her suddenly sharp eyes meeting mine. "That's for Narcissa and I to deal with. Your only job is to enjoy your wedding and honeymoon. Understood?" She was giving me a very stern look that reminded me much too closely of Professor McGonagall and I hastily nodded.

"One hundred percent understood." I assured her.

I could only hope that it would turn out to stay that way.

 


	5. Chapter 5

**CHAPTER FIVE:**

 

After waking up feeling so nervous I thought I might actually be sick, I spent most of the morning with Katie, Luna, Alice and Angela helping set up in the church that I was going to get married in the very next day. 

Alice originally hadn't been happy with my presence but I'd pointed out that it was  _my_  wedding and that I wanted to help and be part of the process and she eventually gave in. Katie, Luna, Alice and I helped move the heavier objects around for Angela's dad, the pastor, as well as sweeping, scrubbing, polishing, setting up the pews with beautifully lettered name cards reading the names of the people involved in the wedding, and hanging countless arrangements of ribbons and flowers. 

We went back to the mansion for a lunch where the others had all been working to finish preparations for the reception. Esme had arrived back in Forks at some point during the morning and she had been ordering the boys about. Alice chose to put her foot down then and told me I wasn't allowed back to the mansion until I was a married woman and I gave up with good grace and left. 

Edward, easily able to sense my anxious agitation, didn't try suggesting to do anything that required any real effort or concentration, instead he helped me pack up my room, a task that was going surprisingly smoothly. At some point I knew it was really going to hit me that tonight was the last night I was going to spend in my childhood bedroom. As it was, it didn't look much like my bedroom anyway– everything was packed away in my trunk except for the blankets on the bed. Even the bookshelf was empty. 

My anxiety only continued to build as the sky started to darken outside, firmly drifting from day to night. Luna cooked dinner– some Polish dish called 'pierogi' which were basically boiled dumplings in semicircular shapes. I'd learned to be cautious when Luna cooked– she'd once made Charlie and I soup made of  _duck blood_ – but these were actually pretty nice, filled with potato, sauerkraut and cheese with fried onion toppings. 

Charlie had worked a double shift and wasn't home yet– and I was pretty sure he'd picked the long shift so he could hide at the station from Cyclone Alice– so after dinner, when Luna left to go back to the mansion and continue the decorating efforts, Edward and I retired to my bedroom to make the most of the time we had before Edward left for his 'bachelor party' and I wouldn't see him again until we met at the altar. 

We curled around each other in bed and partook in some very enthusiastic kissing that had me wondering if we had enough time for the sharing of mutual orgasms before he had to leave. 

I couldn't help my mouth turning down at the thought of his leaving. "I miss you already." I said, very honestly.

"I don't need to leave. I can stay."

"Mmm."

It was quiet for a long moment, just the thud of my heart hammering, the broken rhythm of our ragged breathing, and the whisper of our lips moving in synchronization.

Sometimes it was so easy to forget that I was kissing a vampire. Not because he seemed ordinary or human– I could never for a second forget that I was holding someone more than human in my arms, could never forget the faint whisper of my magic reacting to the presence and proximity of the predator I loved– but because he made it seem like nothing at all to have his lips against my lips, my face, my throat.

I opened my eyes and found his open, too, staring at my face. It made no sense when he looked at me that way. Like I was the prize rather than the outrageously lucky winner.

Our gazes locked for a moment; his golden eyes were so deep that I imagined I could see all the way into his soul. It seemed ridiculous that this fact– the existence of his soul– had ever been in question, even if he was a vampire. He had the most beautiful soul, more beautiful than his brilliant mind or his incomparable face or his glorious body, and with Hermione's help I'd finally found him the evidence to show him he was so, so wrong about his whole ' _vampires have no soul'_  bullshit. 

He looked back at me as if he could see my soul, too, and as if he liked what he saw. I pulled his face to mine again.

"Definitely staying," he murmured a moment later.

"No, no. It's your bachelor party. You have to go." I said the words, but the fingers of my right hand locked into his bronze hair, my left pressed tighter against the small of his back. His cool hands stroked my face.

"Bachelor parties are designed for those who are sad to see the passing of their single days. I couldn't be more eager to have mine behind me. So there's really no point."

"Maybe." I breathed against the winter-cold skin of his throat. "But that doesn't change anything." He chuckled, leaning forwards and kissing me again, only to pull back suddenly. 

"Oh, for the love of all that's holy!" He cursed quietly. 

"What's wrong?" I asked, amused. 

He gritted his teeth. "Apparently Emmett and Jasper are not going to let me bow out tonight." I laughed then shuddered at the sudden squeal against the window– someone deliberately scraping their steel nails across the glass to make a horrible, cover-your-ears, goose-bumps-down-your-spine noise. 

"If you don't send Edward out," Emmett– still invisible in the night– hissed menacingly, "we're coming in after him!"

"How old is he again?" I asked, before shaking my head. "Go, before they break my house." I ordered. Edward rolled his eyes, but he got to his feet in one fluid movement and had his shirt back on in another. He leaned down and kissed my forehead.

"Get to sleep. You've got a big day tomorrow."

"Thanks! That's sure to help me wind down."

"I'll meet you at the altar."

"I'll be the one in white." I smiled at how perfectly blasé I sounded. 

He chuckled, said, "Very convincing," and then suddenly sank into a crouch, his muscles coiled like a spring. He vanished– launching himself out my window too swiftly for my eyes to follow.

Outside, there was a muted thud, and I heard Emmett curse.

"You'd better not make him late," I murmured, knowing they could hear.

And then Jasper's face was peering in my window, his honey hair silver in the weak moonlight that worked through the clouds.

"Don't worry, Bella. We'll get him home in plenty of time."

I was suddenly very calm, and my qualms all seemed unimportant. 

"Hey Jasper? What do vampires do for bachelor parties?" I asked, curious. 

"Don't tell her anything!" Emmett growled from below. There was another thud, and Edward laughed quietly.

"We Cullens have our own version of a bachelor party." Jasper said. "Just a few mountain lions, a couple of grizzly bears. Pretty much an ordinary night out." I looked at him with enough horror that he actually looked concerned and then Edward pushed him out of the way in order to climb back into my room. 

"Bella?" He asked, concerned, cupping my face in his wintry hands. "What's the matter?" 

"What's the matter?" I repeated, "what's the  _matter_? What do you  _think_  is the matter?"

"I honestly have no idea." Edward said, looking genuinely bewildered. 

"You have no idea– of course you don't!" I scowled. "Look, Edward, there are certain classic elements of a bachelor party that  _need_  to be respected: bros, alcohol and the occasional sex worker. That, and the expectation for the groom-to-be to behave like a complete arse because it's his 'last night of freedom'. You can't disrespect tradition, Edward! Especially now Hermione created a way for vampires to get drunk! You can't just go– go  _hunt_  like it's any other night– you have to go do something fun, or at least traditional, like go to a bar or a strip club– or both! In fact, I better hear Alice complaining tomorrow about you lot arriving late and sparkling with cheap body glitter. I also absolutely expect to hear stories about anatomically correct inflatable sheep, malfunctioning beer hats and strippers spanking you with a riding crop." Edward looked mildly stunned as I glared at him and I belatedly reflected that I should probably find something better to read during all those hair and make-up rehearsal sessions then Alice's  _Cosmo_  magazines. Still, my point stood– if I had to suffer through a bachelorette party (which, admittedly, in the end was actually pretty flippin' awesome) then so did Edward. 

Speaking of my bachelorette party; "Now I really want to know what happened at your party." Edward admitted and I laughed. 

"Well, there was no spanking, beer hats or scarily realistic inflatable animals, but I can't say the same about the riding crop." The look on his face had me laughing even harder and I shoved him towards the window again, though I may as well have shoved a statue for the effect it had. "Just have fun," I told him, between giggles. "Okay?" 

"Okay," he agreed. Just before he exited the window he paused and turned to face me. "Did you keep the riding crop?" 

The pillow bounced harmlessly off the window frame and I could hear his laughter, down from the garden, as well as Emmett's cackling. I rolled my eyes and lay back against my pillow, finding I was starting to get sleepy now. I stared at the walls of my little room, bleached pale in the moonlight, from under heavy lids.

My last night in my room. My last night as Isabella Swan. 

Tomorrow night, I would be Bella Cullen. Though the whole  _wedding_  thing was a process and a half, I had to admit that I liked the sound of that. 

I let my mind wander idly for a moment, expecting sleep to take me. But, after a few minutes, I found myself more alert, anxiety creeping back into my stomach, twisting it into uncomfortable positions. The bed seemed too soft, too warm without Edward in it. Jasper was far away, and all the peaceful, relaxed feelings were gone with him.

It was going to be a very long day tomorrow. 

I was aware that most of my fears were stupid, but I did have a few specific worries that were completely valid.

First there was the wedding dress's train. Alice clearly had let her artistic sense overpower practicalities on that one. Maneuvering around in heels and the train sounded impossible. I definitely should have practiced.

Then there was the guest list.

Carmen and Eleazar were going to be there, of course, but so would Tanya and Kate. Irina, at least, wasn't coming to the wedding– she'd nursed a vendetta against the Quileute shifters for killing her lover Laurent until, upon learning I was the one responsible for his death, she turned that hatred on me. The fact that Laurent had been about to kill me at the time was, apparently, entirely irrelevant, and thanks to her grudge the Denali sisters had abandoned Edward's family in their worst hour of need. It had been an unlikely alliance with the Quileute wolves that had saved all our lives when the army of newborn vampires had attacked, though at least Carmen and Eleazar had come to their senses and helped us in the fight. 

I still hadn't met the three sisters and had been very against having them at my wedding, but Edward had said that Tanya and Kate (not Irina) felt horribly guilty for their abandonment and despite my clear reluctance– I hadn't hesitated in being extremely verbose about my opinion– Edward, who knew my weaknesses, managed to guilt me into it.

"We're the closest thing they have to family, Bella," he'd pleaded their case to me. "They still feel like orphans, you know, even after all this time."

So I'd conceded, though hadn't bothered to hide my frown.

Tanya had a big family now, almost as big as the Cullens. There were five of them; Tanya, Kate, and Irina had been joined by Carmen and Eleazar much the same way the Cullens had been joined by Alice and Jasper, all of them bonded by their desire to live more compassionately than normal vampires did.

For all the company, though, Tanya and her sisters were still alone in one way. Still in mourning. Because a very long time ago, they'd had a mother, too.

I could imagine the hole that loss would leave, even after a thousand years; I tried to visualize the Cullen family without their creator, their center, and their guide– their father, Carlisle. I couldn't see it. 

Edward had explained Tanya's history once– their 'mother', Sasha, had created what was known collectively in the vampire world as an 'immortal child'. There had been a brief point in history, around a thousand years ago, when vampires had Bitten children who were barely more than infants. I'd seen a picture in one of my history books– they were very beautiful; endearing and enchanting beyond imagination. The problem was they couldn't be taught– they were frozen at whatever level of development they'd achieved before being bitten. Adorable two-year-olds with dimples and lisps that could destroy half a village in one of their tantrums. If they hungered, they fed, and no words of warning could restrain them. Humans saw them, stories circulated, fear spread like fire in dry brush and vampire hunting among witches and wizards was increased. The Volturi, some of the only vampires who had known about the existence of witches and wizards, had realized that if they didn't get the immortal child problem under control then their race could end up wiped out so the immortal children had to be destroyed. 

The immortal children were loveable, though, to the extent that covens fought to the last vampire– and were utterly decimated– to protect them. The carnage was not as widespread as the vampire southern wars, but entirely devastating in its own way– long-established covens, old traditions, friends... So much was lost. In the end, the practice was completely eliminated and the immortal children had become unmentionable, a taboo. 

Sasha had been one of the vampires to create an immortal child. Tanya, Kate, and Irina were entirely oblivious until the day the Volturi came for them, their mother and her illegal creation already their prisoners. It was ignorance that saved Tanya's and her sisters' lives. Aro touched them and saw with his Gift their total innocence, so they were not punished with their 'mother', though he apparently hadn't thought it important enough to answer all their questions, despite seeing their desperation for answers as to why Sasha had created the child in the first place, who he was, and what had he meant to her that would cause her to cross this most uncrossable of lines. Aro, who had apparently been a real wanker like that, never told them a word.

Aro was dead now, along with the rest of his precious Volturi, and I couldn't help but feel savagely grateful for that fact– the more I found out about the bloke, the deeper my loathing toward him grew. 

Of course, that brought to the front of my mind a concern much bigger then the whole wedding ordeal– Peter and Charlotte's chilling message. Someone was going around and telling covens that the Cullen's had brought down the anger of the witches and wizards on the vampire world. 

Truthfully, that wasn't exactly a lie– the Cullens  _were_  responsible, because I was the one who had gone to the Wizengamot and turned the Aurors on the Volturi. 

The most dangerous animal in the world was one pushed into a corner, and the magical governments were doing a very successful job of pushing vampires into a corner in their efforts to cull the race– all that anger, all that fear and desperation, apparently it wasn't just at the wizards it was being turned on. If vampires were seriously starting to plan some sort of  _retribution_  against my family... 

I shuddered and tried to focus on something less grim, but I already knew I wasn't going to be able to get to sleep any time soon. 

The sound of Charlie's cruiser pulling up in the driveway had me come up with an idea, though, and as a tired Charlie trudged through the front door I practically dragged him over to the TV. 

"You can pick the movie," I offered, generously. 

"You pick the movie, I'm picking the beer," Charlie corrected, giving me a grumpy look, though I didn't take it seriously because I could see the warmth in his eyes and I smiled happily at him. 

"How about a ' _Father of the Bride_ ' marathon?" I suggested. I was joking so I was surprised when Charlie grinned back at me. 

"Not sure if you can call it a marathon when there are only two movies, but sounds good, Bells." He said, and so I spent the next three and a half hours snuggled up next to him, watching Steve Martin panic about his daughter getting married, then panic about her wedding, go through a midlife crisis and accidentally get his wife pregnant at the same time as his newly married daughter became pregnant with her firstborn.

"Hey Bells," Charlie said as the credits for the second movie started to roll, and I made a 'mmm' sound to show I heard him, too sleepy to try and make words happen. The movies had succeeded in their task and I was ready to fall asleep. "You ever gonna make me a granddad? Not that I want to be one just yet," Charlie hastily added. "Just wonderin' if it's possible." 

"Vampires can't have babies." I said, sleepily, "We might adopt one day, though." I then yawned and Charlie laughed quietly. 

"Let's get you to bed, Bells," he said, and I made a small complaining noise as he actually lifted me up, but didn't try to get him to put me down and ended up dozing off before we even reached my room.

 


	6. Chapter 6

**CHAPTER SIX:**

 

I woke indecently early on October 6th, the morning of my wedding, with tears drying on my cheeks and the faces of my dead burnt into the backs of my eyes. 

We all had bad nights and bad days. Sometimes it was as if every time I closed my eyes I could see Sue's lifeless face and the smell of smoke and blood overwhelmed me. I strongly suspected that I'd have trouble sleeping tonight for the rest of my life, that my friend's death would never stop haunting me, nor the war she'd fallen in. 

Unable to get back to sleep, I lay shivering and gasping in my warm bed for several minutes. The sky outside my window turned gray and then pale pink while I waited for my heart to slow. I thought about staying in bed but couldn't and ended up getting up and dressed and heading down to the kitchen long before I needed to. 

First I cleaned the already tidy rooms, and then when Charlie was up I made him pancakes. I was much too keyed up to have any interest in eating breakfast myself– I sat practically bouncing in my seat while he ate.

The sudden brisk tapping on the front door made me cringe and Charlie gave me a look of sympathy– we were both fully aware that these next several hours with Alice were going to be utter hell for me. I ducked in to kiss the top of his head as I passed– he blushed and harrumphed– and then continued on to get the door for my soon-to-be sister.

Alice's short black hair was not in its usual spiky do– it was smoothed into sleek pin curls around her pixie face, which wore a contrastingly businesslike expression. She dragged me from the house with barely a " _Hey, Charlie_ " called over her shoulder.

Alice appraised me as I got into her car. "Oh, hell, look at your eyes!" She tsked in reproach. "What did you do? Stay up all night?"

"Almost." I admitted.

She glowered. "I've only allotted so much time to make you stunning, Bella– you might have taken better care of my raw material."

"No one expects me to be stunning. I think the bigger problem is that I might fall asleep during the ceremony and not be able to say ' _I do'_  at the right part, and then Edward will make his escape."

She laughed. 

"I'll throw my bouquet at you when it gets close."

"Cheers."

I fiddled idly with the car radio and my wand until I managed to find and tap into the Wizarding Wireless Network and the dulcet tones of Celestina Warbeck filled the car, much to Alice's horror and she practically doubled the speed limit in her attempt to get out of the car as soon as she could. 

"Well," I said with a cringe as we turned into her driveway at the same rough speed as a racing car, "I see you got to reuse your graduation decorations." The three miles of drive were once again wrapped in hundreds of thousands of twinkle lights. This time, though, she'd added white satin bows, because  _of course_.

"Waste not, want not. Enjoy this, because you don't get to see the inside decorations until it's time." Alice pulled into the cavernous garage north of the main house and cut the engine with a degree of haste, cutting off Celestina through her second verse of " _Cauldron Full of Hot, Strong Love_ ". 

"Since when is the bride not allowed to see the decorations?" I protested.

"Since she put me in charge. I want you to get the full impact coming in for the reception." She clapped her hand over my eyes before she let me inside the kitchen. I was immediately assailed by the scent.

"What is that?" I wondered as she guided me into the house.

"Is it too much?" Alice's voice was abruptly worried. 

"It smells wonderful!" I assured her– almost intoxicating, but not at all overwhelming, the balance of the different fragrances was subtle and flawless. "Orange blossoms and roses... lilac... and something else– am I right?"

"Very good, Bella. You only missed the freesia."

She didn't uncover my eyes until we were in her oversized bathroom. I stared at the long counter, covered in all the paraphernalia of a beauty salon, and began to feel my sleepless night.

"Is this really necessary? I'm going to look plain next to him no matter what."

She pushed me down into a low pink chair. "No one will dare to call you plain when I'm through with you."

"Only because they're afraid you'll go psycho Cornish pixie on them," I muttered. I leaned back in the chair and closed my eyes, hoping I'd be able to nap through it. I did drift in and out a little bit while she masked, buffed, and polished every surface of my body.

It was after lunchtime when Rosalie glided past the bathroom door already dressed and ready. The stunning vampire was wearing a sleeveless formal dress that looked elegant and conservative and complimented her golden hair– parted, wavy, and perfect. She was so beautiful it made me want to cry. What was even the point of dressing up with Rosalie around?

"Our boys are back," Rosalie said, and immediately my childish fit of despair passed. Edward was home.

"Keep Edward out of here!"

Right. Bugger– forgot that for a moment. 

"He won't cross you today," Rosalie reassured a threatening Alice. "He values his life too much. Esme's got them finishing things up out back. Do you want some help? I could do your hair, Bella."

My jaw threatened to fall open– I had never been Rosalie's favorite person in the world, and although we got along a lot better now, I hadn't exactly expected this offer. Still, I turned to Alice– she was the boss of, well,  _everything_  today, including me. 

"Sure," she said easily. "You can start curling. The veil goes here, underneath." Her hands started combing through my hair, hefting it, twisting it, illustrating in detail what she wanted. When she was done, Rosalie's hands replaced hers, shaping my hair with a feather-light touch. Alice moved back to my face.

Once Rosalie received Alice's commendation on my hair, she was sent off to retrieve my dress and then to make sure the boys passed inspection. Eventually Alice too finished, and she pushed a mirror in my face before I could protest that I didn't want to see. 

While my make-up was mostly natural with the exception of the shimmering eyeshadow and glossy pink lips, Alice had gone with a 'pearls and curls' theme for my hair and jewelry. I was wearing classic pearl drop earrings and, although low bridal buns were more traditional, after being curled in soft tendrils my hair been pinned up from my nape to my crown in an elegant chignon with a veil attached underneath it and a few layers of curls left loose to balance the draped tulle. 

"Wow," I admitted and Alice smiled like a highly satisfied cat then made me stand so that she could ease the dress over my hair and makeup. 

As I stood, mostly naked, I looked down at my body, at the marks, the discolored skin, the scars that marred my arms, my body, like a series of interlocking links in a chain, tying me to my past, and came to a startling realisation: I wasn't ashamed of them. Sure, they weren't what you could call 'attractive', and yes, sometimes they hurt, sharp pain lacing under my limbs like something was trying to do embroidery with my skin, but I would carry them with pride, for the rest of my life, because they meant one very important thing– I fucking  _survived_. 

Of course, that new revelation didn't change the fact that my knees shook so badly as Alice fastened the long line of pearl buttons up my back that the satin quivered in little wavelets down to the floor.

"Deep breaths, Bella," my soon-to-be sister said. "And try to lower your heart rate. You're going to sweat off your new face."

I gave her the best sarcastic expression I could manage. "I'll get right on that."

"I have to get dressed now. Can you hold yourself together for two minutes?"

"Um... maybe?"

She rolled her eyes and darted out the door.

I concentrated on my breathing, counting each movement of my lungs, and stared at the patterns that the bathroom light made on the fabric of my skirt. I was afraid to look in the mirror– afraid the image of myself in the wedding dress would send me over the edge into a full-scale panic attack.

But before Alice was back, someone else walked into the room. I gasped softly. "Luna, you look– you look  _breathtaking_ ," I told her. Luna beamed at me, lifting her pale arms up and spinning, causing the skirts of her dress to twirl. She was wearing a pale yellow shimmery wrap over a sort of ballerina tutu-styled dress– the satiny yellow 'leotard' was decorated with hand cut-and-pressed silk blossoms in rose-pink, forget-me-not blue, zinnia-orange and lavender and the floaty skirt reached down past her knees in layers of silk, chiffon and gauze, all in different shades of green. Green ballet slippers embroidered with yellow sunflowers, the green ribbons tied in pretty satin bows up to her mid-calf and her pale-blonde hair was held up in two buns, with what appeared to be a real sunflower pinned behind her left ear.

"Thank you," she said, happily. Before I could say anything else Alice was back, looking gorgeous in a dress that was orange and swishy, the color of zinnias. With her dark curls framing her face sweetly, she looked delicate and perfect. 

"You are stunning." I told her, honestly. 

"It's nothing. No one will be looking at me today. Not while you're in the room." She dismissed. 

"Har har."

There was a quiet knock on the door. "Come in Charlie!" Alice called and I widened my eyes as my dad shuffled through the doorway. 

"Oh," I said. "Aw. Dad. Don't you look–"

"Silly?" Charlie interrupted.

"I was thinking more like debonair." Charlie blushed. Alice took his elbow and tugged him around into a slow spin to showcase the pale gray tux.

"Now cut that out, Alice. I look like an idiot."

"No one dressed by me  _ever_  looks like an idiot." Alice said, with utmost confidence and severity. 

"She's right, Dad. You look fabulous," I reassured him. " _Merlin_ , everyone looks so amazing!" 

"You look right like you stepped out of one of those Jane Austen movies of yours, Bells," Charlie said, fondness and pride clear on his face as he looked across at me. I went bright red and he laughed before rummaging in his pockets for a minute and then producing a red envelope from which he pulled out a small red box. He lifted the lid and held it out towards me. "Something blue. Something old, too– they used to be your Grandma Swan's. Qiang helped me get a jeweler to replace the paste stones." 

Inside the box were two heavy silver hair combs. Dark blue sapphires and ivory pearls were clustered into intricate floral shapes atop the teeth.

My throat got all thick. "Dad... you shouldn't have."

"It was Qiang too," Charlie said, obviously embarrassed. 

Alice stepped up and quickly slid both combs into my hair so they were helping hold the chignon in place, though they were mostly hidden by the veil. "That's something old and something blue," she mused, taking a few steps back to admire me. "Something new, here–" she flicked something at me. I held my hands out automatically, and the white garter landed in my palms. Made of pale ivory satin, trimmed with delicate lace and embellished with tiny pearl and crystal appliqué, despite the real vintage-charm of the garter I didn't doubt for a moment it was designer. 

"Thank you," I told Alice. "Uh, there's one other one, isn't there?" I tried to think. "Something old, something new, something, um...  _borrowed_ , that's it– something borrowed and something blue. I just need something borrowed now. Unless all this make-up counts." 

"It most certainly does not," Alice said, looking indignant, before turning to Luna who smiled. 

"Close your eyes," she said and I did as she bid. I could feel her slide something onto my head, could feel Alice's small, cold fingers help her adjust it, and when she bade me to open my eyes I looked in the mirror at her 'something borrowed' in amazement. A small, delicate-looking unicorn horn, about five inches long, had been attached to a dainty silver circlet. The circlet sat in such a way that the pearly-white spiralled horn was held to my forehead by an elegant silver filigree base and a teardrop-shaped crystal (or diamond, I honestly wasn't sure) fell delicately from the center of the filigree.

"It was my mother's," Luna said, softly, and I had to blink back tears.

"Thank you, Luna," I choked and Luna produced a silk handkerchief from Merlin knows where and delicately dabbed at the corner of my eyes for me.

"You're so beautiful," she said, which just made the tears start up again. 

"You're perfect." Agreed Alice. "Unusual," she added, smiling as her eyes flicked towards the unicorn horn, "but perfect." 

With a little self-congratulatory smile, she turned to my father. "Charlie, would you grab the flowers, please?"

While Charlie was out of the room, Alice hooked the garter out of my hands and then ducked under my skirt. I gasped and tottered as her cold hand caught my ankle; she yanked the garter into place.

She was back on her feet before Charlie returned with the two frothy white bouquets. The scent of roses and orange blossom and freesia enveloped me in a soft mist.

"The carriage is here," Alice said, her golden eyes practically shining. I blinked. 

"Wait, what?" 

My fears were confirmed when Alice (after making me close my eyes to walk through the house– it was a good thing she hadn't made me put on the high heels yet) opened the front doors to reveal a traditional white-and-gold carriage drawn by two pure white stallions. They were beautiful creatures, with long glossy manes and tails, large but refined heads, long necks and long, sloping shoulders. They looked utterly magnificent and majestic.

And I was allergic to horses. Really,  _really_  allergic. 

" _What_?" Alice looked like I'd just told her I'd been diagnosed with brain cancer and I was honestly afraid to repeat it to her.

"I'm allergic to horse hair," I said, stepping back behind Luna when one of the horses swung its head to look at me– Charlie had done his mounted police training when I was younger and it had nearly killed me; I'd suffered two massive anaphylactic shocks before we figured out it was the horse hair that was causing the problem. 

Alice looked like she was moments away from a panic attack and now I was starting to feel panicked again.

"Bubble-head charm," Luna said, suddenly, before both of us could descend into hysterics. "We'll just use a bubble-head charm for Bella." 

I was skeptical (read  _afraid_ ) of the effectiveness of the bubble-head charm in treating my allergy, but after it was applied and Luna  _thoroughly_  cleaned the parts of the carriage I'd be touching with magic– the poor muggle driver was given no explanation, just ordered to look away by Alice, and the truly terrifying glare she'd given him was very persuasive in convincing to  _keep_  looking away– I hesitantly climbed aboard and when I didn't start to swell up or have trouble breathing concluded that it had worked. 

And with that potential disaster dealt with, the driver ("he's the  _coach_ _man,_  Bella") lightly cracked his whip in the air and we were off.

 


	7. Chapter 7

**CHAPTER SEVEN:**

 

We arrived at the church where my stomach started twisting itself into knots when I saw all the cars parked around. 

"Oh Merlin," I whimpered. Alice patted my shoulder. 

"Deep breaths, Bella," she said, encouragingly, before ducking down in order to strap my very pretty shoes with their  _very_  dangerous heels onto my feet– she'd put it off for me for as long as she could, Circe bless her. 

It struck me, suddenly, that my mother would be in the audience today and I thought I might be sick. I had to hold onto Charlie for support as I climbed out of the carriage, my legs had started to shake so violently.

We entered through one of the side doors to the church, which lead to a small, empty room. I wouldn't be leaving here now until I heard my music. 

Luna conjured me a seat as my legs were shaking about twice as hard now, and I kind of just sat there, dumbly and numbly, as the groomsmen– Emmett, Jasper and Jacob– and the best man, Carlisle, entered the room, all dressed in nicely tailored suits with ivory pocket squares and ties. Alice beamed at their immaculate appearances, even Jacob, and ushered them into their positions with the respective bridesmaids and my maid of honour. 

My bridesmaids looked like a field of flowers; Alice with her zinnia-orange dress, Angela looking stunning in a lavender cheongsam with her dark hair drawn back in a tight bun, Katie's blond hair, curled for the occasion, tumbling over her bare shoulders, her rose-pink strapless gown accentuating her lovely curves, and Isobel wearing forget-me-not blue dress-robes that were much more modern then I'd expected for the girl who grew up in traditional Pureblood society. 

And, of course, there was Luna, whose maid of honor dress was an entire bouquet put together, and I'd only just realized now that I was seeing them all together that the colourful flowers on her dress matched the colours of my bridesmaids. 

I should have been expecting it at this point, with everyone lined to in position, but it was still a shock when I heard the piano begin playing. Pachelbel's Canon. I began hyperventilating. 

"Easy, Bells," Charlie said. He turned to Alice nervously. "She looks a little sick. Do you think she's going to make it?"

His voice sounded far away. I couldn't feel my legs.

"She'd better."

Alice stood right in front of me, on her tiptoes to better stare me in the eye, and gripped my wrists in her hard hands. "Focus, Bella. Edward is waiting for you down there."

I took a deep breath, willing myself into composure.

The music slowly morphed into a new song. Charlie nudged me. "Bells, we're up to bat."

"Bella?" Alice asked, still holding my gaze.

"Yes," I squeaked. "Edward. Okay." I watched her order the wedding processional into action, leading them from the room, and Charlie tugged me after them. 

The music was louder in the entrance of the church. It floated through the open doors and I concentrated on the idea of Edward waiting inside to get my feet to shuffle forward.

The music was familiar, Wagner's traditional march surrounded by a flood of embellishments. I watched as first Luna and Carlisle walked through the doorway arm in arm, both disappearing from my sight, followed by Angela and Emmett and then Katie and Jacob. 

"It's my turn," Alice chimed, her arm linked around Jasper's. "Count to five and follow me." The two vampires began their graceful walk and I cursed myself as I realized that having the two vampires go just before I did was a mistake– I would look awkward and uncoordinated coming behind them; I should have asked Katie and Jacob to go second last.

But I didn't have time to change that now, and as I clutched onto Charlie's arm I realized that this was it; here I was, standing in a church, in a wedding gown and on my father's arm, about to walk down the bloody aisle. 

A sudden fanfare trilled through the soaring music. I recognized my cue.

"Don't let me fall, Dad," I whispered. Charlie pulled my hand through his arm and then grasped it tightly.

One step at a time, I told myself as we began to walk to the slow tempo of the march. I could hear the murmurs and rustling of the audience as we entered through the arch doorway, into view. Blood flooded my cheeks at the sound; of course I could be counted on to be the blushing bride.

But instead of looking at all of them, I looked for  _him_ ; the main reason I was doing this. 

Edward was standing at the front of the church, and once our eyes met I was barely conscious that Carlisle stood by his side, and Angela's father behind them both. I didn't see my mother where she must have been sitting in the front row, or the bridesmaids and groomsmen, my new family, and any of the guests– they would all have to wait till later.

Because all I really saw was Edward's face; it filled my vision and overwhelmed my mind. His eyes were a buttery, burning gold; his perfect face was almost severe with the depth of his emotion. And then, as he met my awed gaze, he broke into a breathtaking smile of exultation.

Suddenly, it was only the pressure of Charlie's hand on mine that kept me from sprinting headlong down the aisle (I'd have to thank Charlie for saving my life later– in these heels I would have never made it).  

The march was too slow as I struggled to pace my steps to its rhythm. Mercifully, it was a small church and the aisle was very short. And then, at last,  _at last_ , I was there. Edward held out his hand. Charlie took my hand and, in a symbol as old as the world, placed it in Edward's. I touched the cool miracle of his skin, and I was home.

The ceremony was beautiful and perfect; Isaac and Isaiah were the ring-bearers (Alice had had to bribe them with video games) and handed over the two gold rings, one a plain band and the other set with three perfect diamonds. I almost started crying halfway through the ceremony when Father Weber started reading the wedding vows, but kept the tears back. 

Our vows were the simple, traditional words that had been spoken a million times, though never by a couple quite like us. 

I didn't realize I was crying until it was time to say the binding words.

"I do," I managed to choke out in a nearly unintelligible whisper, blinking my eyes clear so I could see Edward's face. When it was his turn to speak, the words rang clear and victorious.

"I do," he vowed.

Mr. Weber declared us husband and wife, and then Edward's hands reached up to cradle my face, carefully, as if it were as delicate as the white petals swaying above our heads. I tried to comprehend, through the film of tears blinding me, the surreal fact that this amazing person was mine. His golden eyes looked as if they would have tears, too, if such a thing were not impossible. He bent his head toward mine, and I stretched up on the tips of my toes, throwing my arms– bouquet and all– around his neck.

He kissed me tenderly, adoringly; I forgot the crowd, the place, the time, the reason... only remembering that he loved me, that he wanted me, that I was his.

Our small crowd erupted into applause when we finally broke apart, and as he turned our bodies to face our friends and family I found I couldn't stop smiling. Even seeing the Denalis in the audience couldn't get rid of the little bubble of happiness in my chest. 

My father's arms were the first to find me, his suspiciously shiny eyes the first thing I saw when I finally tore mine unwillingly from Edward. And then I was handed through the crowd, passed from embrace to embrace, only vaguely aware of who held me, my attention centered on Edward's hand clutched tightly in my own. I did recognize the difference between the soft, warm hugs of my human friends, the gentle, cool embraces of my new family and the scorching hugs of my wolf-shifter friends– Jacob hadn't been the only shifter to show up; Seth and his older sister Leah had both accepted the invitation, as well as both Billy and Sue (Seth and Jacob were the only ones who hugged me, though). 

-

The entire wedding party returned to the Cullen's mansion for the reception. The horses and carriage were gone, to my relief, and after Edward and I exited the church in a shower of ivory-coloured confetti we stepped into a white limousine. Our bridesmaids, groomsmen and the maid of honour climbed in after us, and on the short drive back to the mansion we drank champagne (or, in the vampires' cases, they drank blood champagne) and chatted and laughed as soft music played. Edward still hadn't let go of my hand and I was in no hurry to make him do so. 

He was reluctant to let me go change once we arrived, and I was equally as reluctant to be parted from my newly wedded husband, but Alice had given us both a terrifying look and Edward had kissed me one last time then let Emmett drag him away and join everyone flocking into the backyard, the official reception area. 

My dress for the reception was a dark blue cocktail dress, paired with an ivory-coloured shawl and elbow-length ivory-coloured silk gloves with pearl buttons. I felt alongside the beaded accent panel of the dress, amazed at the feel and the elegant and classy look of it. It was simple, but gorgeous and seemed to be eye-catching without being too extravagant. It had a classic silhouette and was floor length, and it clung to my torso, fitting snug but not too tightly to my form. 

Removing the hair combs, veil and unicorn horn circlet, Alice brushed my hair out back to its natural wave then gave me a center part, sectioning off parts of hair from either side of my head and French-braiding it while pinning the rest into a bun at the nape of my neck with hairpins with teardrop pearl heads. Intertwining the French braids at the back of my head, she wrapped them back toward the center and pinned them in place. 

Finally, she led me down the stairs and I got my first actual look at the decorated house– white blossoms hung in garlands from everything in the room that wasn't alive, dripping with long lines of white gossamer ribbons. The furniture from the ground floor of the house seemed to have all been removed and replaced by round tables covered in white-silk tablecloths and paired with satin-draped chairs.

Even with the change in venues, the wedding seemed to have flowed into the reception smoothly– proof, of course, of Alice's flawless planning. The vampire in question lead me out the glass back doors to where there were another ten thousand flowers, serving as a fragrant, airy tent over the dance floor set up on the grass under two of the ancient cedars. The lights in the trees glimmered, making the white flowers glow. It was just twilight over the river; the ceremony had lasted exactly the right amount of time, allowing the sun to set behind the trees. 

Edward appeared, pulling me back into his arms, and I went gladly. Our kiss was longer, and I clung to him until the little crowd spread out under the soft shine of the twinkle lights started to form a line and we were greeted again by the friends we'd previously embraced.

"Congrats, guys," Seth Clearwater told us, ducking his head under the edge of a flower garland. Jacob, a step behind, looked entirely relaxed, long used by now to being in 'bloodsucker territory. Seth's mother, Sue, on the other hand, was tight by her son's side, eyeing the guests with wary intensity, while Billy Black, who was not nearly as tense as Sue, was seated on the other. 

When I looked at Jacob's father, I always felt like I was seeing two people rather than just one. There was the old man in the wheelchair with the lined face and the white smile that everyone else saw. And then there was the direct descendant of a long line of powerful, magical chieftains, cloaked in the authority he'd been born with. Though the magic had– in the absence of a catalyst– skipped his generation, Billy was still a part of the power and the legend. It flowed straight through him. It flowed to his son, the heir to the magic, who had turned his back on it. That left Sam Uley to act as the chief of legends and magic now.

Billy seemed oddly at ease considering the company and the event and I was impressed by his composure. This wedding must have seemed like a very bad thing, the worst thing that could happen to his best friend's daughter, in Billy's eyes. I knew it couldn't be easy for him to restrain his feelings, but I was proud of him. 

Seth leaned toward Edward, arms extended. Edward returned the hug with his free arm. I saw Sue shudder delicately.

"It's good to see things work out for you, man," Seth said. "I'm happy for you."

"Thank you, Seth. That means a lot to me." Edward pulled away from Seth and looked at Jacob, and at Sue and Billy. "Thank you all, as well. For supporting Bella today."

"You're welcome," Billy said in his deep, gravelly voice, and I was surprised at the optimism in his tone. Perhaps a stronger truce was on the horizon. 

A bit of a line was forming, so Seth waved goodbye and wheeled Billy toward the food. Sue kept one hand on each of them. Jacob lingered for a moment to give me a hug. 

"I am happy for you, Bella," he whispered and I practically beamed at him. 

"I'm so happy you're here– Seth, Billy and Sue, too. And Leah." I added, remembering seeing her earlier at the church, one of the very few who hadn't approached to offer congratulations. Jacob laughed.

"She's only here for the food and to piss Sam off." He said. I grinned.

"Well I hope it works." 

"Oh it will," Jacob said, very confidently, before punching Edward lightly on the shoulder. "Congrats, dude. Keep her safe." He ordered before going after his dad. 

Angela and Katie were next to claim us, followed by Angela's parents and then Hermione and Ron, Harry and Ginny, two of Charlie's deputies and Neville with a pair of witches I recognized from the year above me, one with dark hair he introduced as Susan Bones and the other, a blond, as Hannah Abbott. I wasn't sure if they were in a relationship or just friends so I resisted the urge to give Neville a double thumbs up.

And then, behind my human and magical friends, were the guests I hadn't wanted as guests at all– my new cousins-in-law, the Denali vampire clan. 

Oh _g_ _reat_.

 


	8. Chapter 8

**CHAPTER EIGHT:**

 

I greeted Carmen and Eleazar happily enough–  _they_  hadn't abandoned their family in a time of terrible need– but realized I was clenching my jaw as the vampire in front– Tanya, I assumed from the strawberry tint in her blond curls– reached out to embrace Edward. Next to her, the other vampire, this one with long, pale blond hair that was straight as corn silk, stared at me with golden eyes filled with open curiosity. 

"Ah, Edward," Tanya said. "I've missed you."

Edward chuckled and deftly maneuvered out of the hug, placing his hand lightly on her shoulder and stepping back, as if to get a better look at her. "It's been too long, Tanya. You look well."

"So do you."

"Let me introduce you to my wife." It was the first time Edward had said that word since it was officially true; he seemed like he would explode with satisfaction saying it now. The Denalis all laughed lightly in response. "Tanya, Kate, this is my Bella."

Tanya eyed me with a look that was much more speculative than it was resigned, and then reached out to take my hand.

"Welcome to the family, Bella." She smiled, a little rueful. "We consider ourselves Carlisle's extended family, and I am sorry about the, er, recent incident when we did not behave as such. We should have met you sooner. Can you forgive us?" I could see in my peripheral the abortive gesture Edward started to make at Tanya then he gave up, knowing this wasn't going to end well. My whole body had tensed and my lips pressed into a thin line. 

It was infuriating to think that Tanya thought a mere  _apology_  would be enough to make up for what had happened. 

"A vampire hell-bent on murdering me had her fingers wrapped around the fragile, very breakable neck of my closest friend in this world," I said, through clenched teeth, speaking quietly enough that my words wouldn't be overheard. The memory of Victoria's hand squeezing Luna's throat still gave me nightmares. "Another of my friends nearly died from massive internal bleeding." Well, calling Draco a 'friend' was still a stretch, but semantics. "That fourteen-year-old boy," I motioned in the direction of Seth, "was forced to fight in a battle he never should have. He was forced to witness death before he ever should have. So can I forgive you? No. No I can't." 

Tanya's whole face had shuttered and I couldn't read her expression at all. Kate's was easier– there was a good deal of shock, like she hadn't expected me to refuse Tanya's apology, as well as guilt. 

"Tanya," Carmen gently touched Tanya's shoulder. "Tanya, we talked about this. This isn't the time." Tanya nodded.

"Of course," she said, "you're right. Again, I apologize to you, Bella. This is not the time or place for such seriousness." I couldn't tell how sincere she was being so I just nodded shortly and the Denalis moved on.

I looked up at Edward and grimaced. "I'm sorry," I muttered. "I know I shouldn't have... I was rude." 

"Maybe," he sighed, "but Carmen was right– this isn't the time for such seriousness. You were not the one to raise the subject, and you don't have to have forgiven them yet. So let's just forget this happened."

"Good plan," I said. "I completely approve." He laughed softly and wrapped an arm around me.

Of course, then it was Renée and her new husband who were approaching and I was extremely relieved when Qiang neatly overtook them both, Charlie right at her side. Qiang looked stunning in a slinky red dress that clung to her generous curves and gorgeous gold stilettos that would kill a lesser woman, and Charlie's grey suit had acquired a red silk pocket square that matched her dress at some point. 

I happily greeted them both and accepted their congratulations. We chatted for a bit and I thanked Qiang for her help with the hair combs. All too soon they were going though, both visibly amused by my not-so subtle desperation to keep them there longer.

And then Renée. 

 _Merlin_ , Renée. 

I didn't  _hate_  Renée– I had been prepared to die for her, after all. She was my mom and I loved her. I just didn't  _like_  her, and I hated that I couldn't state with absolute certainty that my mother loved me.

"Bella," Renée looked about as awkward as I felt. "You look lovely," she said, and I tried to smile at her.

"Thanks Ren–mom. So do you. And, um, Phil right?" I turned to her husband– he was younger then she was, it made me wonder if he was able to take care of her the way she needed to be– someone had to remind her to pay the bills, where her clothes were, show her how to get to places, she had no idea how to use a map and never wanted to learn, and ground her whenever she wanted to try out one of her more ridiculous ideas, like quitting her job to open her own café– which even if she did actually know how to cook or bake or at least how to make a goddamn cup of coffee would still be a risky business venture. 

"Yes, it's Phil," the husband, Phil, smiled shyly at me. "This is a beautiful wedding, Bella."

"Thank you," I said, "it was all Alice, though. She was the bridesmaid in the orange dress."

"So, was that woman Charlie's girlfriend?" Renée blurted out suddenly. 

I blinked. "Qiang? Yeah, she is." Charlie and Qiang had been dating solidly in the four months since the whole newborn army and Victoria situation. While Charlie had had a thing for Qiang since the first time he saw her, back when she'd healed me after my disastrous international apparation attempt, it was Qiang who had initiated their romantic relationship. 

I was expecting the next wedding to be theirs, without a doubt. I was also half expecting Qiang to be the one to propose. 

"She's much younger then him." Renée said, sounding very disapproving. 

"Qiang initiated the relationship." I said, sharply. "And they knew each other before that. It's been wonderful seeing you again mom, nice to meet you Phil." I nodded tersely at them both before sweeping off in the direction Charlie and Qiang had gone in. 

-

All the standard wedding traditions were kept. I was blinded by flashbulbs as we held the knife over a spectacular cake– too grand, I thought, for our relatively intimate group of friends and family, though I did love the golden phoenix statue. I put a large dab of frosting on Edward's cheek when we cut the cake then licked it off amongst the catcalls. My vampire then very manfully swallowed a portion of the cake as I watched in disbelief.

I threw my bouquet blindly over my shoulder then turned around and groaned aloud as I realized it had landed in Luna's hands ("oh  _Merlin_ , no!"). Emmett and Jacob both howled with laughter at my blush while Edward removed my garter– which I'd shimmied down nearly to my ankle– very carefully with his teeth. With a quick wink at me, he tossed it straight at Draco's face and I kicked his shin in response, despite knowing how useless the action was.

When the music started, Edward pulled me into his arms for the customary first dance and I went willingly, despite my fear of dancing– especially dancing in front of an audience– just happy to have him holding me. He did all the work, and I twirled effortlessly under the glow of a canopy of lights and the bright flashes from the cameras.

"Enjoying the party, Mrs. Cullen?" he whispered in my ear.

I laughed. "That will take a while to get used to." I said before tilting my head up to kiss him while we danced.

Cameras clicked feverishly.

The music changed, and Charlie tapped on Edward's shoulder.

It wasn't nearly as easy to dance with Charlie. He was no better at it than I was, so we moved safely from side to side in a tiny square formation. Edward and Esme spun around us like Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers.

"I'm going to miss you at home, Bella. I'm already lonely." He said. 

I spoke through a tight throat, trying to make a joke of it. "I feel just horrible, leaving you to cook for yourself– it's practically criminal negligence. You could arrest me."

He grinned. "I suppose I'll survive the food. Just call me whenever you can."

"I promise."

Claiming I had a sore ankle, which nobody believed but they let me get away with, I sat down to watch and cheer as couples danced. Edward was still dancing with Esme, and I could practically feel myself getting lighter, watching him spin her gracefully out and back into his arms. Jasper danced by with Alice, and Emmett swung past with Rosalie on his arm before Luna swept over to my table, holding out a hand. "Dance with me?" she asked, smiling. Ordinarily, I would say no, pull the 'I don't dance' card and back out. But what the hell. The soft night sky was beautiful, I had good food and cake and champagne, my friends and family were smiling and laughing and dancing, and screw it, it was my wedding. 

"Okay," I said, and I smiled back, taking her hand and letting her lead me to the dance floor. We moved gracefully enough, Luna stepping into a dainty twirl and me following her lead the best I could. 

After Luna, I let Edward pull me onto the dance floor again, in his arms. I felt like I was floating, like everything in my life was in the right place tonight. I smiled and laid my head against Edward's chest and his arms tightened. 

"I could get used to this," I said.

"Don't tell me you've gotten over your dancing issues?"

"Dancing isn't so bad– with you. But I was thinking more of this," and I pressed myself to him even tighter, "of never having to let you go."

"Never," he promised, and he leaned down to kiss me.

It was a serious kind of kiss– intense, slow but building.... I'd pretty much forgotten where I was when I heard Alice call, "Edward! It's time!" 

I felt a brief flicker of irritation with my new sister for the interruption.

Edward ignored her; his lips were hard against mine, more urgent than before. My heart broke into a sprint and my palms were slick against his marble neck.

"Edward, do you want to miss it?" Alice demanded, right next to us now. "Your luggage is sent and everything's ready– if you don't leave now then you'll miss when it's best."

"What are you talking about? Miss what? A plane?" I asked.

"Not a plane, a surprise," Alice corrected. 

"A surprise? I love surprises– what is it?" I asked, brightly. Both Alice and Edward laughed. 

"Nice try, Bella," Alice said, and I grinned at her, leaning into Edward, unapologetic. "Jasper is bringing the car around– time to say your goodbyes." 

I did as she said, starting by pulling her into my arms. "Thank you, Alice. This was amazing." I told her. 

"It was." Alice agreed smugly, and I laughed. 

"Will you and Jasper be here when we get back from the honeymoon?" I asked and her expression dimmed. 

"Probably not." She said quietly. "Jazz and I are going to have to talk with Carlisle and investigate the threat Peter and Charlotte were talking about." I swallowed. 

It was hard for me to picture, in the warm glow of happiness that came from the wedding, the gentle lighting and lively atmosphere, full of good food and expensive liquor and wearing expensive suits and dresses, that despite the fall of Voldemort and the Volturi, there were still risks out there to us. 

"Be safe, okay?" I said, pulling her into another tight hug. 

"Of course," she promised. "Now go hurry up." 

I gave her one last squeeze before starting to go around waving goodbye to my guests and smiling and passing on thanks them. "Can you see Charlie?" I whispered to Edward, trying to find one of my most important guests of all. 

"Over here," Edward murmured. He pulled me through the guests; they made a pathway for us. We found Charlie leaning awkwardly against the wall behind everyone else, looking a little like he was hiding. The red rims around his eyes explained why. 

"Oh, Dad!"

I hugged him around the waist, tears streaming again– I was crying so much tonight. He patted my back.

"There, now. You don't want to be late." He said gruffly. 

It was hard to talk about love with Charlie– we were so much alike, always reverting to trivial things to avoid embarrassing emotional displays. But this was no time for being self-conscious.

"I love you forever, Dad," I told him. "Don't forget that."

"You, too, Bells. Always have, always will."

I kissed his cheek at the same time that he kissed mine.

"Call me," he said.

"Soon," I promised.

"Go on, then," he said gruffly.

The guests made another aisle for us. Edward pulled me close to his side as we made our escape.

"Are you ready?" he asked.

"I am," I said, and I knew that it was true.

Everyone applauded when Edward kissed me on the doorstep. Then he rushed me to the car as the rice storm began. Most of it went wide, but someone, probably Emmett, threw with uncanny precision, and I caught a lot of the ricochets off Edward's back.

The car, an expensive-looking Mercedes, was decorated with more flowers that trailed in streamers along its length, and long gossamer ribbons that were tied to a dozen shoes– designer shoes that looked brand-new– dangling behind the bumper.

Edward shielded me from the rice while I climbed in, and then he was in and we were speeding away as I waved out the window and called "I love you" to the porch, where my families waved back.

Edward squeezed my hand. "I love you," he said.

I leaned my head against his arm. "I love you too.".

He kissed my hair.

As we turned onto the black highway Edward really hit the accelerator, but to my surprise stopped, after only about ten minutes of driving, pulling off into an off-road path. 

"What are you doing?" I asked. Edward smiled and pulled from the backseat– "Is that a Portkey?" I asked, looking at the teacup he was holding in surprise. 

"I assume you know what to do." Edward teased softly. I laughed as I touched the teacup. 

" _Portus_." I said, and the familiar hook and spinning sensation took over, the magic of the Portkey pulling us from the car and depositing us in– "Why are we in the snow?" I asked, confused. 

"Look up, love," Edward murmured. I was confused but I did what he said and then gasped as I took in the awe-inspiring light show above me.

I wasn't sure how it hadn't been the first thing I'd seen, because now it was all I could see– the Aurora Borealis was  _breathtaking_ ; an ethereal display of bright, dancing lights shimmering across the wide expanse of the starry night sky. 

"You remembered," I whispered, not sure what else to say. I'd mentioned the Northern Lights only once– I'd told Edward it was something I wanted to experience. I hadn't realized that he'd remembered. My eyes filled with tears once more. "It's so beautiful."

We watched the sky for nearly ten minutes before the soft caresses we'd been exchanging began to grow more lingering, the kisses longer and more heated. 

I'd been very uncomfortable with the thought of catching a plane for my honeymoon, so when Edward pulled a second Portkey from his pocket– this one an old spoon– I practically beamed at him. 

"Are you ready?" Edward asked, his voice low and almost husky. The gold in his eyes was so dark it was almost indistinguishable from his pupil and I licked my lips. 

"I am." I said, lifting my hand to place it over Edward's, which was wrapped around the Portkey. " _Portus_."

 


	9. Chapter 9

**CHAPTER NINE:**

 

We appeared on the shore of a small island, the beach glowing pale in the light of the moon. There was a short dock constructed of wooden planks, bleached into whiteness by the moon, with a sleek white yacht moored next to it. The silence was profound– there was nothing but the waves, slapping lightly against the boat and tumbling gently on the sand, and the rustle of the breeze in the swaying palm fronds. The air was warm, moist and fragrant– like the steam left behind after a hot shower. 

"Where are we?" I asked in wonder. Edward smiled a wide smile that gleamed in the moonlight.

"This is Isle Esme." 

"Isle  _Esme_?" 

"A gift from Carlisle– Esme offered to let us borrow it." 

A gift. Who gives an island as a gift? I frowned. I hadn't realized that Edward's extreme generosity was a learned behavior.

"If you ever buy me an island I will make you very, very sorry." I warned my new husband before he could get any ideas. He laughed and then pulled me right up into his arms in one swift, effortless movement. "Aren't you supposed to wait for the threshold?" I asked, playfully. 

He grinned. "I'm nothing if not thorough." I laughed and rested my head against his chest as he carried me along the pale sand pathway through dark vegetation. 

For a short while it was pitch black in the jungle-like growth, and then I could see a warm light ahead. It was about at the point when I realized the light was a house– the two bright, perfect squares were wide windows framing a front door.

"It's beautiful," I murmured. Edward smiled and looked down at me, waiting until I met his gaze before he stepped through the threshold.

He carried me through the house, both of us very quiet, flipping on lights as he went. My vague impression of the place was that it was quite large for a tiny island, and oddly familiar. I'd gotten used to the pale-on-pale color scheme preferred by the Cullens; it felt like home. 

Then Edward stopped and turned on the last light.

The room was big and white, and the far wall was mostly glass– standard decor for my vampires. Outside, the moon was bright on white sand and, just a few yards away from the house, glistening waves. There were two enormous suitcases on the floor and I vaguely recalled Alice saying something about the luggage having already been sent. Mind you, I wasn't exactly paying much attention to any of that– I was far more focused on the absolutely enormous white bed in the center of the room, hung with billowy clouds of mosquito netting, though the suddenly violent pulse beating behind my ears made everything a little blurry.

Edward set me on my feet and without the coolness of his body the room was too warm, stuffier than the tropical night outside. A bead of sweat dewed up on my nape and Edward's wintry finger caressed the back of my neck, wiping away the drop of perspiration.

"It's a little hot here," he said apologetically. "I thought... that would be best."

"Thorough," I murmured under my breath, and he chuckled. It was a nervous sound, rare for Edward. I couldn't deny that I was nervous too. 

"I tried to think of everything that would make this... easier," he admitted.

"Very thorough." I repeated, unable to help my smile. He smiled back.

"I was wondering if... first... maybe you'd like to take a midnight swim with me?" He took a deep breath, and his voice seemed more at ease when he spoke again. "The water will be very warm. This is the kind of beach you approve of."

I would have much preferred going straight to the bed and getting our freak on, but marriage was about compromises so I nodded and smiled up at him. "Sounds nice." He smiled back. 

"I'm sure you'd like a human minute or two.... It was a long day." He said. I nodded again and his lips brushed against my throat, just below my ear. He chuckled once and his cool breath tickled my overheated skin. "Don't take too long, Mrs. Cullen."

I twitched a little at the sound of my new name.

His lips brushed down my neck to the tip of my shoulder. "I'll wait for you in the water."

He walked past me to the French door that opened right onto the beach sand. On the way, he shrugged out of his shirt, dropping it on the floor, and then slipped through the door into the moonlit night. The sultry, salty air swirled into the room behind him.

Did my skin just burst into flames? I had to look down to check. Nope, nothing was burning. At least, not visibly.

I reminded myself to breathe, and then I went over to the two giant suitcases. I wasn't sure whose was whose so I unzipped the left one, and then, when all I could see were Edward's clothes, zipped it back up and tried the right– it seemed mine, as my familiar bag of toiletries was right on top, plus there was a lot of pink in there and even though Edward was comfortable with his masculinity I'd never actually seen him wear pink, but I didn't recognize even one article of clothing. As I pawed through the neatly folded piles– looking for something familiar and comfortable, a pair of old sweats maybe– it came to my attention that there was an awful lot of sheer lace and skimpy satin in my hands. 

I didn't know how or when, but someday, Alice was going to pay for this.

I found a nightie that wasn't too ridiculous and went to the bathroom, unable to resist taking a peek out through the long windows that opened to the same beach as the French doors. I couldn't see Edward; I guessed he was there in the water, not bothering to come up for air. In the sky above, the moon was lopsided, almost full, and the sand was bright white under its shine. A small movement caught my eye– draped over a bend in one of the palm trees that fringed the beach, the rest of his clothes were swaying in the light breeze.

Another rush of heat flashed across my skin.

Even though I knew it was ridiculous to shower before swimming, the thought of a few minutes to myself after such a long day was very appealing. I took my time under the warm running water and when I was done and dried, I spread my favorite lotion all over my body. I fixed my hair and dressed in the nightie, a cream colored silk slip that fell to mid thigh. The cut of the gown was simple, from the spaghetti straps that ended on tiny silk bows to the v-neck that hardly showed any cleavage. I walked back into the room, past the suitcase full of lace and the big bed and out the open glass door onto the powder-fine sand.

Everything was black-and-white, leached colorless by the moon. I walked slowly across the warm powder, pausing beside the curved tree where Edward had left his clothes and looking across the low ripples, black in the darkness, searching for him.

He wasn't hard to find. He stood, his back to me, waist deep in the midnight water, staring up at the oval moon. The pallid light of the moon turned his skin a perfect white, like the sand, like the moon itself, and made his wet hair black as the ocean. He was motionless, his hands resting palms down against the water; the low waves broke around him as if he were a stone. I stared at the smooth lines of his back, his shoulders, his arms, his neck, the flawless shape of him....

The fire was no longer a flash burn across my skin– it was slow and deep now; it smoldered away any awkwardness I was feeling, erasing my shy uncertainty. I slipped the nightie off without hesitation, leaving it on the tree with his clothes, and walked out into the white light; it made me pale as the snowy sand, too.

I couldn't hear the sound of my footsteps as I walked to the water's edge, but I guessed that he could. Edward did not turn. I let the gentle swells break over my toes, and found that he'd been right about the temperature– it was very warm, like bath water. I stepped in, walking carefully across the invisible ocean floor, but my care was unnecessary; the sand continued perfectly smooth, sloping gently toward Edward. I waded through the weightless current till I was at his side, and then I placed my hand lightly over his cool hand lying on the water.

"Beautiful," I said, looking up at the moon, too.

"It's all right," he answered, unimpressed. He turned slowly to face me; little waves rolled away from his movement and broke against my skin. His eyes looked silver in his ice-colored face. He twisted his hand up so that he could twine our fingers beneath the surface of the water. It was warm enough that his cool skin did not raise goose bumps on mine.

"But I wouldn't use the word beautiful," he continued. "Not with you standing here in comparison."

"Sweet talker." I said, half-smiling as I raised my free hand and placed it over his heart. White on white; we matched, for once. He shuddered the tiniest bit at my warm touch. His breath came rougher now.

"I promised we would try," he whispered, suddenly tense. "If... if I do something wrong, if I hurt you, you must tell me at once."

"I promise," I whispered. I took another step through the waves and leaned my head against his chest. "Don't be afraid. We belong together."

I was abruptly overwhelmed by the truth of my own words. This moment was so perfect, so right, there was no way to doubt it.

His arms wrapped around me, holding me against him, summer and winter. It felt like every nerve ending in my body was a live wire, and I was almost trembling in want and feverish need– I wanted to kiss him, to taste him, to feel him pressed against me. 

"Always," he agreed, his gold eyes burning with sincerity, and then he pressed his lips to mine, kissing me slowly and sweetly, despite my desire to be frantic and erratic and hurried. He wrapped his arms around my waist, keeping me close as we turned and started to walk, though we were both ultimately unsure who it was guiding who out of the ocean. And then I was being lifted up and I couldn't help laughing breathlessly as Edward carried me back to the cottage.  

Once we were inside the kissing edged closer to my frantic desires, my blunt, human teeth nipping uselessly at his lower lip and then his cool tongue tracing the sensitive skin of mine. I moaned, wrapping my legs tighter around Edward and rocking purposefully against him. 

It would be so easy, a bit of readjusting and then we'd be joined together. Except... as deliciously erotic as the idea felt, standing here didn't feel like the right place for this, for our first time.  

Edward seemed to sense my hesitation and broke the kiss off, looking around and hesitating as well. A moment passed, a breath, and then golden met mine. "Let's go to bed," he murmured. 

He carried me back to the room with the huge white bed in the center and laid me down on the mattress. With the way my legs were still wrapped around his waist it was easy to roll us over so I was on top, Edward immediately moving to accommodate me when I made my wish clear. 

I ran my fingers through his hair, still wet from the ocean, and pulled him in for a hungry kiss. He obliged my semi-aggressive kiss, his icy fingers brushing against my sides. I kissed him until I had to pull back for breath, panting lightly.

Leaning down to nuzzle his neck, I kissed the exposed center of Edward's throat, right down to the spot between his collarbones, leaving faint pink smudges of lipstick where my lips pressed. Edward let out a sort of muted growl, his whole body tensing slightly, and I froze, thinking I probably should have thought through the whole neck bit– I might only have very blunt, very human teeth, but I didn't know just how much it went against a vampire's instincts to have a mouth pressed against their neck. 

But then Edward relaxed and tipped his head back and I felt a fierce surge of possessiveness, satisfaction and pleasure coiling inside me as I pressed my mouth right over where his pulse would be and dragged my teeth carefully along his silky, icy marble skin, not wanting to chip them 

Edward let out an actual moan at that and my kisses turned frenzied again, moving back to his mouth, my weak human limbs pinning his naked body to the blankets and him letting me, allowing me to hold him down. I ground my hips against his hardness as our legs tangled together, the icy cool of his skin, the warm heat in the air, the slippery silk of the sheets, all of them a mix of textures and sensations that threatened to overload me. I trailed kisses down his chest and slipped fully between his long, pale legs. 

This next part was something we'd done before and was an easy enough rhythm to fall into, all firm grips and lingering strokes. I could judge my success by the way Edward's hips moved with me, by the rapid, unnecessary breaths and little sounds he was making. I moved slightly so I could watch his face as I stroked slowly, the part in those perfect lips, the way his burning gold eyes darkened to something more dangerous, more lustful. Maybe teasing a vampire wasn't the smartest thing to do, but I wanted my husband so beyond teased that he was coming undone at his seams before he even entered me. My beautiful, beautiful vampire lying under me, holding himself in place, giving me this power over him; it was  _intoxicating_. 

A moan escaped me, the first sound I'd made other then the panting and the sound of our kisses. 

" _Bella_ ," Edward gasped, and then he moved, surging up and spinning.  I hit the mattress hard enough to knock the air from my lungs, but Edward's lips against mine had me far too occupied to worry about something as inconsequential as oxygen. 

I was undeniably wet at this point, from more then just the ocean. There was no need to pull out any of the lube or massage oils I'd packed as Edward and I joined fully for the first time, with a low growl and a breathless whimper respectively, both of us moving and rocking together until the pleasure crested. I cried out as I came with a shudder, and something crunched above me (it sounded suspiciously like the headboard breaking) as Edward reached his own release with a low groan. 

It hadn't been the same as I'd read about in those books from Alice. There had been no angelic chorus, no pleasure so intense that my vision turned white or I saw stars– to be honest, the times he used his tongue on me had felt just as good. Finding our rhythm had started slightly awkward, neither of us quite sure how to move together, and it had hurt when he first entered me, the sensation of being so full so suddenly painful until his slow, careful movements replaced the dull pain with a much sharper pleasure. 

So no, it hadn't been like any of those stories, but that had just made it  _better;_ I had never felt so beautiful, so loved, as I did with our bodies pressed so tightly together, him holding me against him just as tightly as I was holding him, his cold lips kissing away my tears until no more spilled, as we moved together, two souls, one body.

 


	10. Chapter 10

**CHAPTER TEN:**

 

The sun, hot on the bare skin of my back, woke me in the morning. Well, late morning, maybe afternoon, I wasn't sure. Everything besides the time was clear, though; I knew exactly where I was– the bright room with the big white bed, brilliant sunlight streaming through the open doors, the clouds of netting softening the shine.

I didn't open my eyes. I was too happy to change anything, no matter how small. The only sounds were the waves outside, our breathing, my heartbeat...

I was comfortable, even with the baking sun. His cool skin was the perfect antidote to the heat. Lying across his wintry chest, his arms wound around me, felt very easy and natural. 

His fingers softly trailed down the pearl string of my spine, and I knew that he knew I was awake. I kept my eyes shut though, and tightened my arms around his neck, holding myself closer to him. He didn't speak; his fingers moved up and down my back, barely touching it as he lightly traced patterns on my skin.

I would have been happy to lie here forever, to never disturb this moment, but my body had other ideas. I laughed at my impatient stomach. It seemed sort of prosaic to be hungry after all that had passed last night. Like being brought back down to earth from some great height.

"What's funny?" Edward murmured, still stroking my back. The sound of his voice, serious and husky, brought with it a deluge of memories from the night, and I felt a light blush color my face and neck. To answer his question, my stomach growled. I laughed again.

"You just can't escape being human for very long." I waited, but he did not laugh with me. Slowly, sinking through the many layers of bliss that clouded my head, came the realization of a different atmosphere outside my own glowing sphere of happiness.

I opened my eyes and the first thing I saw was his tense jaw, and I propped myself up on my elbow so I could see his face. He was staring at the frothy canopy above us, and he didn't look at me as I studied his grave features. His expression was a shock– it sent a physical jolt through my body. "Edward," I said, a strange little catch in my throat, "what is it? What's wrong?"

"You have to ask?" his voice was hard, cynical. My first instinct, the product of a lifetime of insecurities, was to wonder what I had done wrong. I thought through everything that had happened, but I couldn't find any sour note in the memory. I couldn't think of any part that would make him look like this– so severe and cold. 

What had I missed?

His finger smoothed the worried lines on my forehead. "What are you thinking? He whispered.

"You're upset. I don't understand. I thought you, you know,  _enjoyed_  it..." my voice trailed off and my cheeks warmed. His eyes tightened.

"How badly are you hurt, Bella? The truth– don't try to downplay it."

"Hurt?" I asked, surprised. He raised one eyebrow, his lips a tight line. I made a quick assessment, stretching my body automatically, tensing and flexing my muscles. There was stiffness, and a lot of soreness, too, it was true, but that was to be expected, and the most prominent sensation was the odd one that my bones and become unhinged at the joints, and I had changed halfway into the consistency of a jellyfish. It was not an unpleasant feeling.

And then I was a little angry, because he was darkening this most perfect of all mornings with his pessimistic assumptions. "Why would you jump to that conclusion?" I demanded, "I've never felt better than I am now."

"Really?" he asked, his voice hard, "look at yourself, Bella. Then tell me I'm not a monster." Wounded, shocked, I followed his instructions unthinkingly, and then sucked in a breath. What had happened to me? I couldn't make sense of the fluffy white snow that clung to my skin, and I shook my head, causing a cascade of white to drift from my hair. I pinched one soft white bit between my fingers. It was a piece of down.

"Why am I covered in feathers?" I asked, confused. He exhaled impatiently.

"I bit a pillow. Or two. That's not what I'm talking about." Huh. I remembered the headboard breaking, but not the pillows been torn– I must have been very distracted at that point. "Look Bella!" Edward almost growled. He took my hand– very gingerly– and stretched my arm out. "Look at  _that_!" This time I saw what he meant. Underneath the dusting of feathers, large, purplish bruises were beginning to blossom across the pale skin of my arm, trailing up my shoulders, down my ribs. So lightly that he was barely touching me, Edward placed his hand against the bruises on my arm, one at a time, matching his long fingers to the patterns.

"Oh," I said. I tried to remember this– to remember pain– but I couldn't. I couldn't recall a moment when his hold had been too tight, his hands too hard against me. I only remembered wanting him to hold me tighter, and being pleased when he did...

"I'm... so sorry, Bella," he whispered, while I stared at the bruises. "I knew better than this. I should not have–" he made a low, revolted sound in the back of his throat. I sighed heavily.

"Edward," I said, "as your wife, I feel that I have a fiduciary responsibility to tell you when you are being particularly stupid. And in case that wasn't clear, let me put it bluntly– you are being particularly stupid." 

His eyes were still filled with self-loathing and I knew this was going to take a while. Still, I couldn't help being utterly pissed at him for trying to ruin what was– or at least, what  _had_  been– an amazing morning after. 

"I am more sorry than I can tell you." He said, so earnestly, and I groaned aloud. 

"Well I'm not sorry! I'm... god, I can't even tell you! I'm so  _happy_! And that doesn't even begin to cover it. Don't be angry. Don't. I'm really f–"

"Do not say the word  _fine_." His voice was ice-cold. "If you value my sanity, do not say that you are fine."

"Well screw your sanity then!" I growled, "Because I  _am_!  _I am fine_!"

"Bella," he almost moaned, "don't."

"No–  _you_  don't, Edward!" I snapped. His gold eyes watched me warily, as I glared down at him. "Don't ruin this," I warned him, "I. Am. Happy."

"I've already ruined this," he whispered.

"Stop that!" I snapped. I heard his teeth grind together. "No, I'm serious– stop. You don't get to decide how I feel for me, understand?" I sat up, uncaring of my nakedness, the bareness of my breasts, and gave him a furious look. "Answer me this– did you enjoy last night?" 

"Last night was, well, one of the best nights of my existence." He admitted, and I couldn't deny the satisfied curl of heat inside me at this affirming words. "But I don't want to think of it that way, not when you were–"

"Really?" I interrupted him, my lips now curved into a smile. "The best night of your existence?"

"It was more. It was everything. That doesn't change the fact that it was wrong. Even if it were possible that you really do feel that way." He said, softly.

"What does that mean?" I asked, indignantly, "Do you think I'm making this up? Why?"

"To ease my guilt. I can't ignore the evidence, Bella. Or your history of trying to let me off the hook when I make mistakes." I grabbed his chin and leaned forward so that our faces were inches apart.

"You listen to me, Edward Cullen. I am not pretending anything for your sake– I didn't even  _know_  there was a reason to make you feel better until you started being all miserable. I've never been so happy in all my life– I wasn't this happy when you first decided that you loved me, or the first morning I woke up and you were there waiting for me... Not even when I heard your voice in the ballet studio, when I saw you standing in the shadows, still  _alive_  in Italy, or when I felt your arms around me when I returned from the Battle of Hogwarts,"– he flinched at the reminders of these memories, but I didn't pause– "or when you said 'I do' and I realized that, somehow, I get to keep you forever. Those are some of the happiest memories I have, and this is better than any of it. So you just deal with it, understand? I am my own person, you  _don't_  get to decide what is right or wrong for me– I am a grown-ass woman and if you try to take that choice from me, you are denying me my right to my own emotions and saying that I'm not capable of knowing myself. Is that what you're saying, Edward? Are you calling me some child who needs your guidance, who doesn't know any better?"

Edward looked horrified at my accusations. "No, of course not!" He protested and I nodded fiercely, sliding off the bed and standing up, putting my hands on my hips and scowling down at him. 

"Good. Now I'm going to have a shower and I expect you to join me. At least to get all these bloody feathers out of my hair." I ordered, before spinning on my heel and storming to the bathroom.

Adjusting the expensive shower to the right water temperature was exceedingly simple, and I couldn't deny that stepping under the rush of water was heaven. Edward stepped in after me, a silent presence that I ignored, other then the fingertips ghosting over my scalp, threading through the snarls of my hair, plucking out the feathers. 

Under the warm spray I could recognize that the ache between my shoulder blades that was going to turn into stiffness, and there were different parts of me– my arms, hips, ribs and thighs to be precise– that were going to twinge for days, and not in a good way. Letting the warm water pour down over me was bliss, but then I turned to Edward and my breath caught. 

His face was stiff and reserved, but the way the water slowly soaked him where he was standing back against the tiles like a Greek statue made my heart speed up in my chest, shortened my breath. His bronze hair was a wet mess that curled and curved over his neck and forehead, his mouth was wet and shiny and his throat running trails of water. 

I literally couldn't stop myself from moving forwards, closing the short distance between us and pressing my mouth against his. He immediately turned to a statue beneath me, but I didn't let him push me away, instead held onto him hard enough that he couldn't get me to let go without hurting me. 

His body was a tense, unhappy line before me, but I could practically  _taste_  his fight for control in the stiff movements of his mouth, and I was utterly determined to seduce my husband, as ridiculous as it was that I needed to do it in the first place. The water soaked my hair, running down between us to flow past where our mouths were joined, down Edward's chest and I let my hand drop to where he hung, thick and heavy, my slippery fingers curling around him in a tight grasp. Edward's head fell back, knocking against the tiles, a rare, colorful curse slipping out. 

I pulled back, worrying my lip between my teeth as I looked up at him. "Please," I begged him, knowing I was playing dirty but honestly not caring. " _Please_ , I want this, Edward– I  _really_  want this. I want you– I  _love_  you and I  _want_  you." 

I could see the way he was arguing with himself, internally, with the stressed lines of his face and his expression was just as desperate as mine. "I don't want to hurt you, Bella," he practically pleaded with me. 

"Edward, I don't mind a few bruises– I'm pretty sure I actually  _like_  them," I confessed. "There's more then just one type of sex out there, and I'm not going to deny that for me, the bit of pain just made it more real, more exciting. Last night was the _best night_  of my  _entire life_. I wouldn't lie to you about something as important as that, as  _this_." I could literally see the moment he lost the hesitation and we kissed, greedily, his hands moving to my shoulders and then curving down my hips. 

Warm water sluiced over us as our kiss deepened and hands started to roam. I pressed myself tight against him, wanting to be close, to feel the cold, hard marble lines of him against my curves, flushed wet from the hot spray of the shower. I felt the wet spread of his icy fingers low on my back, drifting and curving around my waist, icy thumbs sliding on skin where the water ran. The way his grip flexed and relaxed told me it was going to leave new, fresh bruises, but like I told him, I didn't care about that, just kissed him harder.

Edward held me to him and eased us both back until the tiles of the shower were pressed against my back and the wet length of his chest pressed against mine, his fingers slipping down to cradle my hips, tilting them until the water couldn't run between us. 

It took very little maneuvering to position ourselves to let his body press into me, press inside me. It left me gasping and open-mouthed, my fingers going white on his shoulders I was gripping onto him so hard as he pushed until I was filled and  _aching_  and  _trembling_  with it. As he moved I clung to him and didn't bother holding in the moans and gasps; helpless, breathless sounds I didn't even recognize coming from my mouth. Pleas slipped unbidden from my lips and I couldn't find myself to be embarrassed by how desperate I sounded, the raw ache in my voice. 

The part of me that wasn't so consumed by my own pleasure was very satisfied to note Edward was just as affected as I was; a satisfaction that lit its own fire inside me, made my blood burn like fire in my veins. My husband pressed his wintry lips against the curve of my neck and it was so easy to imagine those sharp, white teeth biting down where my skin was delicate and fragile, my pulse fluttering madly. 

And, in a spectacular display of no self-preservation whatsoever, it was this thought that had me reaching my finish, clinging hard to Edward through one messy, half-broken shudder after another until I wasn't the only one who had reached completion. Edward pushed into me so hard that every inch of me hurt, but in its own way it was perfect– just like us.


	11. Chapter 11

**CHAPTER ELEVEN:**

 

_It had been centuries since Athenodora had returned to Greece. She couldn't deny that she'd missed the country where she'd been born, millennia ago, but her visit now certainly wasn't for any sort of nostalgic reason._

_Her lip curled at the sight of the pretentious building before her. She really shouldn't have expected anything less then what was, despite its smaller size, clearly a castle– the turrets were a give-away. Her stride was confident as she made her way through the intimidating black cast-iron gates, and the grand doors swung open before she reached them. She only paused for less then a second before stepping into the entrance hall._

_It was a grand stone room with gold accents and decorated with extravagantly woven tapestries depicting the many battles of the past._

_"I see you chose to forgo those garish moving portraits your kind so loves," she said, speaking in her first tongue, her bell-like voice transforming the Ancient Greek into something as otherworldly ethereal as her appearance._

_"Why would I care to speak to a memory?" came the raspy reply, the ancient syllables hoarse and scratchy in this voice. Athenodora turned toward the sound and fought the automatic curling of her lip in disgust as the stooped figure shuffled into view._

_Her brother, unlike her, actually looked as ancient as they both were, with his thin, wrinkled skin stretched over frail bones clad in shapeless robes as white as his long, stringy hair. She had to fight the very human urge to shudder as his eyes met hers; it was his eyes that gave away the fact he was about as human as she was, irises redder then freshly spilled blood with slit-eyed pupils, rectangular-shaped like a cat's._

_"Athenodora." He greeted her, thin mouth distorted into a smile that showed his yellowing teeth and sickly pale gums._

_"Herpo the Foul." She returned, her plump lips twisting into a parody of a grin that showed her sharp, white teeth. "That is, I believe, what they call you, is it not?" Herpo cackled, and the thin, reedy sound made her want to use her sharp nails to claw open the age-spotted skin of his throat after gouging out those horribly unnatural eyes._

_"Shall I call you 'her majesty' then, oh Queen of Vampires?" Herpo asked. "Or would Queen of the Damned be more fitting?"_

_A snarl escaped her, and her jewelled fingers curled into bone-white claws at her side as she had to fight not to lunge at the disgusting old man. Cat-like eyes looked knowingly into her own as Herpo stood there. "You have heard what has happened." She stated, rather then asked him._

_"The wizarding world may believe I am dead, but that does not mean I have not been keeping an eye on them." Herpo said. His expression was sly as he added, "and, of course, on you, dearest."_

_The idea of Herpo keeping tabs on her made her stone skin crawl like locusts were swarming in her veins. She wanted to shudder, wanted to claw at the hard marble flesh, wanted to snarl her anger, her fury, to spit venom at him. She did none of these things– she knew better then to try and attack him, knew the futility of it first-hand._

_The smirk on his face told her Herpo had known very well the effect his words had had on her, and that he was equally aware of how hard she was fighting to keep her calm. He may not have been the brother she'd had inside her, but that didn't mean he didn't know her inside and out._

_"I assume you are here for a reason, darling sister." He broke the silence, casually waving one of his gnarled hands through the air, causing a velvet-lined chair to appear before him. He sat down heavily on the conjured seat, bony shoulders hunched in the very image of elderly exhaustion. She knew better then to believe that, even for a second._

_"If you have been... keeping tabs on me, then you know what has happened. That Caius is dead." She said, the words practically dragging themselves from her mouth she was so reluctant to speak them, reluctant to speak with him._

_"Ah Caius, the mate you chose. The most bloodthirsty of the three vampire Kings... though obviously not the smartest or you would not have chosen him." Herpo said, tone cruelly casual. Athenodora didn't say anything in response because they both knew that was true, there was no use denying it. "Yes, I heard he was disposed of," Herpo smiled 'pleasantly', "disposed of along with the other Kings, their little guard, and that castle he kept you locked away in."_

_"I was not locked away!" She couldn't help the furious snarl that escaped her. Herpo gave her a look of disdain that made her want to both rage at him and shrink away in humiliation._

_"Those Kings kept you locked in a Tower like you were a delicate flower to be protected." He practically spat the words in disgust before smirking at her. "They were wrong, of course," he said; smoothly, knowingly, "but I suppose it worked. You are here, after all, and they are not."_

_"I am going to destroy those responsible." She hissed, lips stiff with rage. Herpo waved a liver-spotted hand dismissively._

_"Of course you are. That is, after all, why you are here."_

_"I... need your help." The words were actually painful to speak and Herpo laughed again, the sound scratchy and scornful._

_"Oh, I know. You are not strong enough to take on the army that has been amassed to destroy your kind. The army you are creating is not strong enough. You want my aid to... even the odds."_

_"I do." The admittance was shameful, the words just as painful to speak. She spit them out like they were acid in her mouth._

_"And why?" Herpo asked, a taunting smile on his aged face. "Why should I help?"_

_Athenodora didn't answer straight away, instead she swept her gaze over the hall they were standing in. The extravagance of the room, she had no doubt, was a reflection of the entire small castle. Herpo would have spared no expense in his comfort and display of obscene wealth. Why spend eternity in anything but utmost comfort?_

_"Tell me, brother," she said, finally. "Are you content?"_

_"Content?"_

_She turned back to him, unable to help the smirk that curled her lips at the evident confusion he'd directed at her question. Redder then blood cat-like eyes regarded her suspiciously and she smirked harder causing him to scowl, fingers twitching._

_"I have a vampire, not too old, just a few centuries, with a Gift that is no longer of any use to me– one of contentment. You are alone, nobody but I knows that you still live. An infinity alone is a terrible fate– and a terribly dull one at that. You help me, the Gifted vampire is yours to at least to break up the tedium of this life of yours."_

_"And you believe the vampire will agree to this little trade?" Herpo asked, and Athenodora knew she had him. She couldn't help her triumphant smile as her shoulders rose and fell in a graceful shrug._

_"I am sure between us we can convince her to see things our way." She said, carelessly. "She doesn't need to be happy or willing to use her Gift. Just alive and properly motivated."_

_Herpo laughed again. "Of course. Well, I cannot deny this is an interesting offer."_

_"Which you will accept." She said, confident now._

_"I will." Herpo confirmed. "Bring me the Gifted vampire and I will craft you and your army some... talismans to repel and nullify magical attacks. There is only so much I can do, of course, only so much the charms will prevent, but it will even your odds. Though you must know," his expression shifted, any humour leaving it as his eyes narrowed, "you must know you cannot win. Not completely. Not against the superior strength, power and numbers of wizards. You should be asking for an unPlottable piece of land, my dear sister, not a magically shielded army. Except..." his face turned shrewd now, "you already know that."_

_Athenodora bared her teeth in a dark smile. "Oh I do. Believe me, I do."_

_"So why are you not asking for that land, sister?"_

_"If you put your mind to it, then I am sure you can work that out for yourself,_ brother _." Her lip curled at the last word, at the acknowledgement._

_Herpo was silent for a long, long moment, those slit-pupil eyes boring into hers. She saw the moment realisation dawned._

_"It was never about the wizards." He said, thin lips curving into an amused smile. "It never has been. You wicked, clever thing- you truly are the Queen of the Damned." And then he started to laugh._

-  
-

**ISLE ESME, Bella Cullen:**

I was sore but in a very good mood after my shower– who wouldn't be?– and in an even better one when I found inside my massive, courtesy-of-Alice suitcase a small drawstring pouch that hummed of Luna's magic. It turned out to be enchanted with an extension charm and held not only a dozen tubs of bruise paste, but several weeks worth of clothes too.

Picking Luna's sense of style over Alice's any day, I dressed in a bright lime-green t-shirt that proudly claimed ' _damn straight I'm good in bed – I can sleep for days_ ' thrown over a purple pinafore minidress. Humming cheerfully to myself, I followed the enticing smell of of eggs and bacon and cheddar cheese to the kitchen I'd only briefly glimpsed the night before, where Edward was standing over the stove looking like something from a PlayWitch magazine, topless and wearing a tiny apron. 

Almost equally as delicious as the sight of my husband was the light blue plate he was holding, on which sat a still slightly steaming omelet. The scent of the food temporarily overwhelmed me and I felt like I could eat the plate and the frying pan, too, in that moment. 

"Here," Edward said. He turned with a smile on his face and set the plate on a small, tiled table. He sat down across from me as I started scarfing down the hot eggs. They burned my throat, but I didn't care. "I'm not feeding you often enough." He muttered quietly _–_  I was pretty sure I wasn't supposed to hear him but a witch's hearing was better then a muggle's, something he really should have realised that by now. 

I swallowed my mouthful before correcting him. "I was asleep," I reminded. "If you'd tried to wake me I might have turned you into a frog. Besides, I'm a grown woman, Edward; I don't actually need you to feed me _–_ though I'll certainly never say no to these deliciously delicious omelettes that are very impressive for someone who doesn't eat."

"Food Network," Edward smiled, self-recriminating expression gone, and I turned back to my eggs, satisfied that the brief tension had melted away. 

I ate everything, even though he'd made enough for two, before pushing the plate away, and looking up. "So what's the plan for this afternoon?" I asked, curious, and he smiled. 

"It depends on if you feel like a lazy day or not." He said. I paused and thought about it. On the one hand, yesterday _–_ last night  _definitely_  included _–_  had been exhausting. Thrilling and amazing and unforgettable, but utterly exhausting. On the other hand, it was already noon now; I'd slept over half the day and felt sore but pretty good. 

"I could do something." I decided. "Just not something that requires a lot of moving."

"You'll only have to sit and listen to the guide," Edward promised. 

And that was how I spent my afternoon in a very private and impressively shaded tour bus, driving through endless golden grass swaying in a breeze under the hot African sun. 

The Sanbona Wildlife Reserve was located at the base of a towering mountain range and it was stunning, the wide open plains filled with indigenous fauna and flora. Within its boundaries was a kaleidoscope of habitats; sea beds shunted up and folded into mountains that still carried the fossilised evidence of marine creatures, natural rock gardens packed with over six thousand types of bizarre, swollen little plants forming a multicoloured mosaic over the land like millefiori, vast plains, acacia thickets, rivers and mini-lakes. 

Even more eye-widening then the landscape was the wildlife. There were the Big Five, of course _–_ lions, buffalo, leopards, elephants and rhino. We also saw giraffe, zebra, kudu, springbok galore and captivating klipspringer, mini-antelope that stood sentinel on rock ledges. 

Lions alternately basked in the sun or lay in the shade while lionesses stalked their prey, swift and lethal. Elephants foraged for food, two giraffes started attacking each other and at one point a herd of zebra blocked the trail (Edward growling softly under his breath had them all galloping off in a hoofbeat). Our enthusiastic guide enthralled me with both the cultural history of the area, the San people, and the amazing wildlife around us. 

The most amazing animals of all, though, were Sanbora's white lions; magnificent beasts which had all the predatory grace and beauty of your regular lion, but with snowy white fur and pale eyes. There was something so inherently stunning and majestic about them it almost made me tear up watching them, much to our guide and Edward's amusement. 

When we took a portkey back to our honeymoon island, I was so tired I fell asleep over my dinner and Edward had to carry me to bed. I more then made up for my exhaustion the night before when I woke the next morning, though, casting a quick mouth-freshening charm before pouncing on my husband. 

After a very satisfying round of morning sex, followed by omelettes, followed by rounds two and then three, Edward pulled from his suitcase a bag filled with portkeys. When I looked at him, very confused as to why he'd want to keep leaving our small slice of paradise, he explained that he hadn't forgotten what I'd said, that day, all those months ago. 

 _"I want to experience a sunrise at the Grand Canyon."_ I'd told him. _"I want to see the Northern Lights in Alaska, watch the penguins play on the icy planes of Antarctica and a lion defend its pride in the savannas of Africa. I want to see the Coliseum in Italy, walk through different time periods in Asia, go and explore the Mayan and Incan ruins in South America, see the ghosts of Pompeii, explore the islands of Hawaii– and I want to do it all next to you, Edward. I want to live it all by your side, as your wife."_

Edward, despite the fact I'd mostly forgotten about what I'd told him, had really taken my words to heart and seemed determined to complete everything on my impromptu list _–_ he'd even enlisted Alice and the Li's to help to do so. 

And, of course, anything organised by Alice tended to go flawlessly. With the aid of international portkeys, I got to explore Pompeii, finding out what life was like in the ancient city now buried under twenty meters of volcanic ash and then finished the day by travelling to the top of Mount Vesuvius to both marvel at sweeping views of the Bay of Naples and contemplate history's most famous volcano eruption. Edward and I then journeyed through parts of South America to see the ancient Mayan and Incan civilisations, and in Asia we visited more art museums and explored more old ruins then I could count, the Ravenclaw in me soaking in everything I could about the fascinating cultures. 

Ever the dutiful husband, Edward helped keep me vertical as I slipped and slid across an icy Antarctic sloe, as at the time I was too busy watching the mass of huddled penguins to really concentrate on the precarious ground. He also helped me stand up on a surfboard on the beach of a tiny Hawaiian island that he'd hired for the day for just us to privately explore (one word _–_ sparkles), and ended up carrying me back to the house from the beach our portkey dropped us off at after our day spent touring the Coliseum. It was definitely all worth it, despite the exhaustion that had me passing out pretty much as soon as my head hit my pillow. 

Between long days that often stretched into the late evening before we returned via portkey to Isle Esme, we'd take a day or two off to stay on the island. And though that sometimes meant sleeping in and watching movies or lounging under the sun listening to gentle waves while making out, that wasn't to say our time there was spent idly. We snorkeled _–_ well, I snorkeled while he flaunted his ability to go without oxygen indefinitely. We explored the small jungle that ringed the rocky little peak. We visited the parrots that lived in the canopy on the south of the island. We watched the sunset from the rocky western cove. We swam with the porpoises that played in the warm, shallow waters _–_ well, again, I did, but when Edward was in the water, the porpoises disappeared as if a shark was near. And we spent our nights wrapped around each other. 

Of course, it wasn't just at nights that we made love; with the spirit and enthusiasm _–_ and horniness _–_  of newlyweds, we christened the surfaces of everything from the golden sand-shores, with Edward's marble skin reflecting like a diamond under the bright, warm rays of the sun, to the kitchen bench where he prepared my omelet every morning. 

I was blissfully happy, and never wanted it to end.

-

-

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Herpo the Foul was an Ancient Greek wizard responsible for creating the first Horcrux. It's debated that if no one destroyed his horcrux then he could still be alive.  
> Sorry about the long wait for the update, but my exams are finally over (halle-fucking-lujah!) and I hope you enjoyed the chapter!  
> ~Cheshire Carroll


	12. Chapter 12

**CHAPTER TWELVE:**

 

The line of black advanced on me through the shroud-like mist. I could some of the figures with dark ruby eyes glinting with desire, lusting for the kill, lips pulled back over their sharp, wet teeth _–_ some to snarl, some to smile. The other figures wore bone-white masks like skulls and held wands. 

Behind me, a child whimpered and I spared a second to glance back surprised. I then gasped. The child was beautiful; utterly adorable, and definitely not human. He was a toddler, maybe two years of age, with soft curls framing a cherubic face with round cheeks and full lips. And the darling thing was trembling, his eyes closed as if he was too frightened to watch death coming closer every second.

I was struck with such a powerful need to save the lovely, terrified child that the Volturi and the Death Eaters, despite all their devastating menace, no longer mattered to me as I spun firmly back around to face them, holding my wand out defensively before me. I could still hear the baby whimpering but I couldn't turn to look at him again. Though I was desperate to be sure that he was safe, I couldn't afford any lapse in focus now.

The crowd ghosted closer, their black robes billowing slightly with the movement. I saw the vampires' hands curl into bone-colored claws while the tips of the Death Eaters' wands started to glow a nauseatingly familiar green. They started to split apart, angling to come at us from all sides. 

We were surrounded. 

We were going to die.

We _–_

I jolted upright up, shocked out of my dream and gasping for breath. It came out in shallow drags of air and I could taste copper in my mouth. Brushing my fingers against my lips they came away wet, smeared with blood from where I'd bitten them to muffle my screams. 

The room was steamy hot and sweat matted my hair at the temples, rolling in beads down my throat. I frowned shakily, looking down at my red-streaked fingertips, my brain scrambling to figure out what was wrong in this scenario. It hit me after a moment, and I blamed the horror of my strange dream on why I'd been so slow to realise. 

Edward was gone. 

Before I could panic too much I spotted the note on his pillow, the outside of which was addressed to  _Mrs. Cullen_  because my husband thought he was a sneaky bugger. 

_I'm hoping you won't wake and notice my absence, but, if you should, I'll be back very soon. I've just gone to the mainland to hunt. Go back to sleep and I'll be here when you wake again. I love you._

I sighed. We'd been here awhile now, so I should have been expecting that he would have to leave, but I hadn't been thinking about how much time had passed. We seemed to exist outside of time here, just drifting along in a perfect state.

My growling stomach interrupted any plans to try and go back to sleep, and I honestly wasn't that eager to return to the world of dreams without Edward by my side to wake me before they started getting really bad. 

Wiping the sweat off my forehead as I stood, and slipping my wand from the bedside table through the waistband of the silky short-things I was wearing as an afterthought, I followed the demands of my impatient stomach, making my way to the kitchen where I found the ingredients to make chicken quesadillas and got to it. 

Absently flicking my wand to check the temperature of the cooking chicken at one point, my midnight snack plans came to a screeching halt when I ended up having to grab onto the kitchen island for support and gasping in shock as I almost lost both my eyebrows- and gained what would probably have been at least second degree burns! The flames under the frying pan had just shot up about three meters, burning straight the metal of the frying pan and billowing out the sides _–_ my reflexes had had me jerking back in time to avoid being burnt, but my heart was still racing at the unexpected near miss. 

"The hell?" I asked out loud, incredulous. Warily eyeing my wand, I gave it a gentle flick over a glass by the sink with a quietly murmured; " _Aguamenti!_ " The simple spell should have filled the glass with water _–_  instead, it flooded the kitchen. 

Swearing _–_ loudly _–_ I hoisted myself up onto the kitchen island (literally now) and looked down in disbelief at the ankle-deep water. Switching my gaze to my wand I gave it a deeply betrayed look. Being only a stick of wood, admittedly with a few extra additions, it didn't respond. 

Looking back at the disaster that was the kitchen _–_ my late-night snack burnt, the pan scorched and half-melted and the floor flooded _–_ I gave it up as a bad job. I was tempted to try and use magic to clean up the mess, except I was a touch unnerved. My magic hadn't reacted like that since I was a kid and didn't even know that witches and wizards existed, let alone that I was one. It certainly hadn't acted like that last time I'd cast a spell, which had only been... I paused then as I realised I couldn't actually pinpoint the last time I'd used my magic to cast a spell. Using portkeys didn't require magic _–_ the magic was already imbued in them, they only needed the activation word. Thinking hard, I couldn't remember using my wand since I'd cast bubble-head charms to go snorkelling, back during the first few days of the honeymoon. 

Bubble-head charms which kept popping, which was why I'd switched to using a snorkel. I'd just put it up to my unfamiliarity with the charm, but now...

Unsettled, I pocketed my wand and decided to write to Luna _–_ and possibly Hermione too _–_  at a more reasonable hour. Meanwhile, I tossed the ruined frying pan with the burnt remains of the chicken quesadillas and great big bloody hole in the middle into the bin under the sink, noting with amusement all the empty egg cartons stacked up next to it. I'd never been a big egg fan before; this slice of paradise was really messing with my appetite. 

Unsure about what to do about the flood in the kitchen, I used a mop to try and move the water outside. It sort of worked _–_ the floor of the kitchen and the living room too now were both drenched, but it was the sort of drenched you got when you spilled a glass of water, not when your magic accidentally flooded the kitchen. 

Exhausted, and with my stomach snapping and snarling like a rampaging nundu, I looked in the fridge and cupboard with no small amount of desperation for something quick to eat. Salvation came in the freezer, where a tub of rocky-road ice-cream sat. In the clammy heat of the house, the cool, delicious treat was, well, cool and delicious. I curled up on the couch in the living room, the coolest room in the house with the door open to let in the slight breeze. My skin had started prickling with unease at the thought of casting a cooling charm while my magic was acting so... weirdly unpredictable, and I made an effort to listen to my instincts; I was after all, and against all odds, still alive. 

After inhaling practically the entire carton, I started to doze off there on the couch until a sudden pain twisted in my stomach, almost like the aftershock of catching a punch in the gut. 

Half asleep or not, I still made it to the bathroom  _post haste_  where I crouched over the toilet and proceeded to be violently sick. My hair was falling in the toilet bowl and getting mixed with vomit but I couldn't find it in myself to care, not when I could barely breathe between retching. 

When I finally stopped throwing up, I half staggered over to the sink, leaning against it for support and breathing harshly. When my body eventually stopped shaking like I'd just run a marathon and my legs felt like they could support me again I bent over and rinsed my mouth thoroughly. 

The nausea had gone just as fast as it had come. I grimaced in disgust, feeling my sticky, grotty hair smearing against my cheek, and, after flushing the toilet twice to get rid of all the mess inside, I stripped out of my nightgown and turned on the shower. 

Stepping under the purposefully cool water I started scrubbing my hair and face clean of the mess. Once all traces of the vomit had been washed away, I turned off the water, stepping back out and drying myself with one of the huge fluffy white towels. 

While I was already undressed, I frowned and stepped over to the full-length mirror, letting the towel fall away so I could examine my naked body closer. 

I looked fine. None of my scars were inflamed and, with the aid of the copious amounts of bruise paste I'd been using, other then a recent bouquet of finger-width, light purple marks that unfurled on my upper ribs, most of the love-making bruises were completely faded, pale yellow at the most. I couldn't spot any immediate signs of sickness either; my cheeks were a bit flushed, but it was hot here on the island, and I didn't look any thinner then normal _–_ a bit tired, maybe, but I blamed that on the vivid dreams I'd been having. Some of them, like the one with the immortal child, the Death Eaters and the Volturi, seemed so real, albeit entirely implausible, it was like I'd never even been sleeping in the first place. This meant I didn't wake up feeling rested and the past however many days we'd been here had been pretty exhausting with all the high activity, copious amounts of sex and constant travelling. 

Maybe I just needed to slow down for a few days, I reasoned, as I ran my fingertips absently over some of the scars on my torso, lightly tracing the knotted skin more by memory then sight, only to go very,  _very_  still when my fingertips brushed against what was inarguably a slight but very solid bump right under the skin of my abdomen. 

Practically invisible before, something my eyes had skated right over, suddenly the defined, minute curve of my abdomen was all I could see. And maybe it was the nightmare I'd just had, but the sudden implications of what it could mean was all I could think. 

_Hey Bells, you ever gonna make me a granddad? Not that I want to be one just yet. Just wonderin' if it's possible._

My legs gave out from underneath me and I had to grab the nearby sink so I didn't fall on my arse. My chest was tight and I felt beyond panicky as I shifted my weight so I could lift one hand from the sink to press against the small but firm bump. It definitely wasn't food weight _–_ if I pressed down lightly I could feel how hard the bump was under my skin, almost like stone. Like vampire skin. 

_Vampires can't have babies, dad._

My head started spinning and I managed to lower myself down so I was sitting on the bathroom floor before I lost control of my arms too and just looked down at my stomach in disbelief. 

_Vampires CAN'T have babies._

But if I wasn't mistaken, and there was this gut instinct inside me, this feeling that I couldn't shake off that said I wasn't, I was somehow, impossibly pregnant. 

Well,  _shit_. Apparently I'd just been boned by the fickle finger of fate.

I started crying then. 

I wasn't entirely sure why, but to my utter confusion tears started to overflow rather enthusiastically from my eyes, gushing down my face. They were disturbing but I couldn't make them stop, couldn't get control of the staggering emotions inside me, too busy reeling with shock and confusion.

How was this even possible? I wasn't an idiot _–_ even though I hadn't thought it was really necessary, I'd still used birth control; I'd taken a contraceptive potion on the day of my wedding, one thats effects were supposed to last a month. Not that I'd actually thought I'd need it, just that it was better to be safe then sorry _–_ in one of the vampire books Qiang had leant me there'd been a few pages discussing the possibility of half-vampire children, though research into the phenomena had proved inconclusive, with the likely probability being that the so-called 'half-vampires' were actually immortal children. 

And I'd just assumed they were too _–_ none of the Cullens had ever mentioned anything about a need to use protection to avoid the risk of me getting pregnant. 

My whole body twitched as I thought  _that_  word. I actually felt nauseous, like I might throw up again. 

Why hadn't the contraceptive potion worked? The instructions had clearly stated that only the woman needed to take it, the man didn't, and... 

...and  _oh bollocks!_ My stomach sunk and despite the heat in the bathroom my face felt cold as I realised something, something I hadn't really thought about before now _–_ the contraceptive potion was designed for humans to use. Not vampires. 

I swallowed back more bile as I wondered if it was as blindingly simple as that. Was I maybepossiblyprobably pregnant because I hadn't looked into the contraceptive potion to see if it was compatible with species other then witches, wizards and muggles? 

I slumped against the bathroom wall, sliding down until I was sitting then pulling my knees up to my chest. Hugging my legs to my chest, I rested my head on my forearms and tried to stop the tears as I faced the tangle of emotions inside me. 

Having a child was... not something I'd ever predicted for myself. Before Edward I had thought, like most girls do, that I'd probably have one at some point in the future. Then I'd met Edward and accepted that it just wasn't going to be a possibility for me anymore, and I honestly hadn't really minded. Babies weren't my thing. 

Except... a possessive hand slid down to my abdomen, lightly cupping the tiny bump, because maybe  _babies_  weren't my thing, but those were stranger's babies. This tiny thing growing in my stomach wasn't a stranger's baby _–_ it was  _Edward's_  baby. It was  _my_  baby. 

It wouldn't, I was sure, be too complicated to get Qiang to... remove the fetus. Carlisle could probably do it too. Except even the thought of that had me ready to start clawing out the eyeballs of anyone who  _dared_  even try. 

I was racing ahead with this, I reminded myself. I didn't know for a fact I was pregnant, it was just a theory. There was a spell I knew, one Madam Pomfrey had taught to all the fourth year girls, but with my magic strangely on the fritz I really didn't feel the urge to point my wand at the possible life growing inside me. 

Oh  _hell's bells_ , I realised suddenly, my eyes widening in dismay. Witches and wizards who were Turned couldn't use magic anymore _–_  this was a widely understood fact, and quite the deterrent in the magical world for those who viewed vampirism as a possible source of immortality. It had never, ever happened before, a witch getting knocked up by a vampire, but I had the sinking feeling it was very possible that being pregnant with a half-vampire was interfering with my ability to use my magic. 

Bloody bollocksing buggering  _bollocks_. 

I knew immediately that the first thing I needed to do was tell Edward, but I already knew exactly how that would go. Well, I wasn't sure how he'd react about the possible-very-likely baby itself, but I knew that as soon as I confessed my suspicions then our honeymoon would be over. He'd drag me back to Forks to get either Carlisle or Qiang to confirm what was happening and then... well, I wasn't sure what would happen then, but the sinking in my stomach had me convinced it wouldn't go over well. Edward was going to panic and freak out and he was never going to have sex with me again. 

Feeling utterly miserable and horrified at that awful thought, I moved my hand to the imperceptible bump again and felt a wave of soothing calm wash over me. Alright. There was no need to panic, I decided. I could be wrong about the pregnancy thing _–_ I shouldn't be able to see a bump at all this early. I was probably just putting on a few with everything I'd been eating...

My appetite;  _Morgana's tits_ , I swore as my stomach sunk. The constant cravings for eggs. Waking up starving at one in the morning. And god, the crazy dreams, the sudden throwing up, being so exhausted... it was improbable, so, so very improbable, but every instinct I had was screaming one thing _–_ there was a baby growing inside me. And it was growing fast.

 


	13. Chapter 13

**CHAPTER THIRTEEN:**

 

_It was improbable, so, so very improbable, but every instinct I had was screaming one thing– there was a baby growing inside me. And it was growing fast._

I was abruptly exhausted with my newfound realisation, but I didn't want to go back to the hot bedroom. So I opened more windows in the TV room and lay on the couch right beneath them. It still took over an hour for me to doze off, my mind spinning hopeless circles. When I opened my eyes again, the sun was halfway up the sky, but it was not the light that woke me. Cool arms were around me, pulling me against him. 

"I'm sorry," Edward was murmuring as he wiped a wintry hand across my clammy forehead. "So much for thoroughness. I didn't think about how hot you would be with me gone. I'll have an air conditioner installed before I leave again."

I didn't mention cooling charms as he didn't seem to remember that I was supposed to be a witch. My insides twisted uneasily at the thought, and one of my hands moved to my stomach without permission. I could feel the slight curve of the bump, which made me want to... I wasn't even sure. Cry more, maybe? 

"I'm getting far too used to waking up next to you," I said instead, relaxing into my husband's embrace. "I don't ever want to sleep by myself anymore."

Edward chuckled and his cool lips brushed against my cheek. He did that a lot, pressing soft kisses anywhere his mouth could reach. My shoulder. My neck. My forehead. 

"So," he murmured, icy lips moving against the shell of my ear, "what do you feel like doing today?" 

"Let's stay here today," I suggested instantly- the last thing I felt like doing was being on my feet all day when I needed time to adjust to my sudden new reality. "We can watch a movie, or something." 

"Are you alright?" Edward asked, pulling back so he could look at me, his brow furrowing in concern. I laughed and then tried not to cringe, hoping that it had sounded less fake to him then it had to my ears. 

"I'm fine," I said, which wasn't strictly a lie. "Just could do with a few lazy days."

"Of course," Edward said, with a smile. "We've been very busy." 

"It's been the best two weeks of my life." I told him honestly. 

"Actually it's been closer to three weeks," he corrected, with a small, encouraging smile. Something in my chest tightened and I tried not to let it show on my face. If it had been nearly three weeks since the wedding then I was late. About a week late, to be precise. I'd never been late more then a day or two in my life. Shit. 

It wasn't that I'd needed any more proof that I was pregnant, but I'd been given it anyway. 

"Bella?" Edward asked, a hint of concern on his face, smile gone. I waved it off. 

"Just thinking about what Luna and Dra- Malfoy could be getting up to without supervision." I said, which wasn't fully a lie. 

Edward looked annoyingly amused at that, but didn't say anything else on the matter. 

I had my usual omelette breakfast and then he put on a DVD. I couldn't really concentrate on the plot, my mind too busy going over it all, so just lounged lazily over Edward's lap, eyes half closed. 

Vaguely noting the two main characters making out I twisted around to give my husband a kiss, but just like earlier this morning, after the ice-cream, sharp pain hit my stomach as I moved. I lurched away from Edward, my hand tight over my mouth. I knew I'd never make it to the bathroom this time, so I ran to the kitchen sink.

I felt so horrible that I didn't even care- at first- that Edward was with me while I bent over the sink and was violently sick.

"Bella? What's wrong?"

I couldn't answer yet. He held me anxiously, keeping my hair out of my face, waiting till I could breathe again.

"Go away," I panted when I finally could, "You don't need to see this. Go away."

"Not likely, Bella."

"Go away," I moaned again, struggling to get up so I could rinse my mouth out. He helped me gently, ignoring the weak shoves I aimed at him.

After my mouth was clean, he carried me to the bedroom and sat me down carefully on the bed, supporting me with his arms.

"What's wrong?" He asked anxiously. 

"Nothing. Probably just a stomach bug." I lied blatantly for the first time, no omission or half truth available. 

"A stomach bug?" Edward repeated, face creased with concern. 

"It's a human thing." I said. "We get them occasionally. Or food poisoning, maybe. I probably ate something that didn't agree with me while we were travelling." 

Edward didn't look convinced by my carefully feigned nonchalance. "Should we go see Qiang?" He suggested. 

"For a small case of food poisoning? There's nothing she can do that an anti-nausea potion can't fix." I said firmly. 

"Are you sure?" He pressed. 

"I'm sure." I said. And I was. 

The anti-nausea potions were part of the medical kit Qiang had given me, which Luna had so thoughtfully packed- though I got the feeling she'd packed it for the bruise paste, not so I could hide my surprise pregnancy from my new husband- and I took a quick sip of the phial, calculating how much potion I had and how long it could last me. I was pretty sure I could get a week out of it.

As I walked back out to the bedroom Edward put a cold hand on my forehead. It felt nice. "How do you feel now?" He asked. 

I thought about that for a moment. Thanks to either the potion or the vomiting, the nausea had passed as suddenly as it had come and I felt like I did any other morning. "Pretty normal. A little hungry again, actually."

Edward made me wait an hour and keep down a big glass of water before he made me a sandwich and we sat back in front of the TV. 

I refused to let the guilt I was feeling overwhelm the drowsy contentment I felt with my head on his lap and his hands in my hair. 

-  
-

When I thought to myself that the baby was growing fast, I didn't realise just how right I was. 

Maybe I was just noticing now because I was watching for it, or maybe before now most of the changes had been internal, as my baby had developed from a clump of cells to a tiny, but vaguely functional, miniature human being. Either way, the bump was growing- and growing far too quickly. My stomach was gaining multiple centimetres of girth everyday- it wouldn't be long until hiding it was impossible. It only took two days for it to become, at a glance of my bare midriff, unmistakable as a baby bump. 

A bit of stealthy googling on Edward's phone, which unlike mine had a payment plan that gave it access to Wifi, had told me that baby bumps generally first started becoming noticeable at the start of the second trimester- twelve to sixteen weeks, to be exact. Going by that, according to the site, my baby was around eight centimetres long and already had its own unique fingerprints. I wasn't entirely sure why, and I fully blamed the pregnancy hormones, but I'd had to put back Edward's phone then because I'd started tearing up. 

Still, despite the awe I felt I was also concerned. Very concerned. With my stomach seemingly increasing by the hour, even Luna's loosest and most flowing dresses started to struggle to hide it. And then there were the plethora of other things- for one, morning sickness was a horrible, awful, terrible, lying lie. I was going through the anti-nausea potion much too fast, the awful sick feeling hitting me multiple times over the day, not just in the mornings. There'd been no more vomiting, but food had started to be... remarkably unappealing. Choking it down had become a real challenge, though one I was stubbornly persevering at. 

I was dead tired too, but didn't have the excuse of full on travelling to explain it away. Plus I was overly emotional, feeling like I was always teetering on the knife's edge of some emotion or other. Not to mention the moments of intense, er,  _horniness_. I'd solved that problem at least, wearing a lingerie nightgown to hide my growing stomach while shagging my husband silly. 

Edward probably thought I was ten kinds of strange, but amidst all the designer clothes and lingerie Alice had packed I'd found a slip similar to the cream-coloured camisole from the first night but a deep purple colour, like red wine. The silk was tight and fashionably flimsy around my breasts before falling loose, loose enough to hide my growing stomach from view. That first time, when Edward had gone to lift it off, I'd started to panic. Looking back it was almost amusing, if it wasn't so mortifying. 

"Wait!" I'd practically shouted, grabbing his hand before he could lift the hem of the silky thing up. He'd looked so confused as my mind raced, all too aware of the growing curve of my abdomen. "I- I like the feel of the silk," I'd eventually blurted out, going bright red. "It feels good- you know, the sexy sort of good." I'd prayed that he took my embarrassment to be for the confession to a kink of sorts. It wasn't even a lie, exactly- the texture of the silk sliding against my skin did make me shiver in a delicious way, but the feel of my own bare, heated skin against the icy marble of Edward's felt even better. 

"That's fine," Edward had said, much to my relief, releasing his hold on the hem to pinch a bit of the silk between his fingers, rubbing them lightly. "I suppose I can see the appeal," he'd added, looking up at me with what I could only call 'bedroom eyes' and I'd started blushing even harder. 

The blush hadn't faded as we started to kiss again, not until I got lost in the sensations of it all when Edward finally pushed into me and started moving. Our kissing, the movements, all of it grew more and more urgent, all needy and uncontrolled the way Edward hated to be but I loved to take. It never failed to bring a thrill to me that I had done rest, had stripped away his careful self-control until it was just me and him, nothing between us. Even when Edward pushed in a fraction too hard, when he left my lips numb and swollen and deep bruises in the muscles of my thighs, I only ever clung tighter to him. 

I knew the longer I put off telling him about the pregnancy the more likely it would be that he'd find out on his own. That didn't change the fact I kept putting it off. A week, I told myself. I wanted one more week of paradise. 

Of course, that didn't work out. 

-

Everything came to the inevitable head five days after I first figured out I was pregnant, a day after I claimed I was too sore to have sex, because even with the lingerie my stomach was too hard to hide then. 

In fact, 'sore' was a bit of a general theme. I'd had a bad morning all around, losing breakfast in the shower despite the potion, and after only managing about half my plate too. I had no energy after a night of particularly vivid dreams and Baby was being particularly restless, and kept sitting directly on my bladder, as well as kicking the ever-loving crap out of my insides. 

I wouldn't say I was sulking, exactly, as I claimed a headache and curled up on my side on the couch, a little silk dressing gown and conveniently placed cushion carefully hiding my baby bump while my face was buried in a cushion, but I sort of was. And after an hour or two, Edward cleared his throat. 

"Are you okay?" He asked. I scowled into the material pressed into my face. This was his all fault, I decided grimly as Baby shifted restlessly again. I was never letting him stick his dick in me again. Ever. 

"'m sleeping." I grumbled into the pillow. 

"No, you've been laying there for the past hour, possibly attempting to suffocate yourself with a couch cushion." He corrected. Without looking, I waved a hand with my index finger extended in his direction. 

Of course, that was when Baby decided to kick again, and the surprised hiss of discomfort that escaped from me would have been too quiet for a human to hear, or even a witch or wizard. Edward, however, was neither, and he'd picked up both the pained sound, and the way both my hands had moved to my sneakily covered stomach. 

"Bella?" He asked, in clear concern, and before I could stop him, before I could even figure out some way to stop him, he'd moved the cushion and carefully undone the dressing gown. 

Then there was dead silence. 

I slowly, very reluctantly, lifted my head from the cushion I'd buried it in to meet Edward's eyes. He looked... well, a mix of shocked, desperate, hurt, disbelieving, more shocked, and Not Very Happy. 

I wanted to defend myself, as those hurt eyes turned to me, but clearly,  _res ipsa loquitor_ ; the thing spoke for itself. 

"Impossible," Edward whispered, after what seemed like an eternity of silence. I actually slumped back into the couch, a bit relieved he'd started talking again, and my hands moved seemingly automatically to my now uncovered stomach. I was uncomfortable to realize there were small marks like ink-blots on my pale skin– bruises, from Baby's kicking. I hadn't spent a great deal of time examining my stomach, rather keeping it hidden out of sight, so I hadn't noticed them before. Or maybe they hadn't been there before today– Baby grew fast. I couldn't claim to be any sort of expert in pregnancies, but I was guessing bruising like that wasn't normal. Unsurprisingly, Edward's eyes went straight to the marks.

"I know," I spoke up, when I was pretty sure Edward wasn't going to. I wasn't actually sure he was able to, and I wondered if it was possible for vampires to go into shock. Edward looked like he'd been carved from ice, and that he wasn't in danger of melting any time soon. "I know it should be impossible, but it's not a trick or a prank or anything. I'm pregnant." I barely managed to choke out the last two words, but once they were out there, once it was out in the open, I actually did feel a little better. Sort of, anyway. Edward's expression wasn't so shocked and frozen anymore, but it still wasn't anything comforting. He'd definitely moved to the 'anger' part. 

"How long have you known?" he demanded, voice clipped. I straightened slightly and tried not to fidget under the accusing weight of his gaze. 

"Not long. About five days."

"Just five days?" Edward's eyes took in the bulge of my stomach again. 

"You saw me naked, about a week ago." I reminded him. "I was pretty much flat then. The baby is growing... very quickly." 

"Why didn't you tell me, the moment you figured it out?" Edward asked, after another long pause. I cringed back into the cushions, fingers anxiously kneading the smooth leather of the couch on either side of my thighs. 

"Because I knew that once you knew, you'd insist we go get everything checked out. And I would have, soon– I just wanted another week, of it just being me and you and this island." I said, quietly. 

"You need to see Carlisle." Edward said, flatly. 

"I want Qiang," I disagreed, immediately. "No offense to Carlisle, I know he's an amazing doctor, but he's both a male and he works with humans. Qiang is far more equipped to deal with this sort of thing, and she's a woman." 

"Fine." Edward agreed, brisk. "You need to see Qiang."

"Can we just..." I slumped down again, hands still cradling my exposed stomach, feeling tired and defeated. "Can we go watch the sunrise first?" I asked, quietly. "Over the canyon? It's the only item on our list we haven't done." 

Edward's lips were a pinched line of unhappiness. 

"Qiang needs to examine you as soon as possible," he said. 

"We already know what she'll say- I'm pregnant. And the moment we see her, our honeymoon will be over. Can we just do this first? Please?" It was clearly the wrong thing to say. 

"Our honeymoon ended when you lied to me, Bella!" Edward's face was stiff, his short, clipped words belying his anger. 

"I never lied! I just... omitted!" I protested immediately, before shrinking into myself at the furious look he gave me. "It was still wrong of me." I said, my words so quiet a human wouldn't have been able to hear them. If Edward was human, though, then we wouldn't actually be in this position. "I'll make it up to you. I swear."

"I don't want you to make it up to me, Bella. I want you to stop lying to me– I want you to actually trust me. You're my wife– I love you more then anything else, and I want you to stop feeling like you have to hide things from me. You don't. Not anymore."

I was crying again, and the tears, frustratingly, wouldn't stop. This was a recurring theme recently. "Hormones," I croaked, wiping hurriedly at my face with the hem of the silky robe. Edward sighed and sat beside me on the couch. As he wrapped his arms around me, I buried my head gratefully into his chest. "I'll try. No more secrets." I managed to promise, between embarrassingly loud sobs and sniffs. "Or omissions." I added, as an afterthought. 

Edward didn't say anything. 

-

Edward packed. I got to sit on the couch and watch, after changing into a white sundress that prominently displayed my growing baby bump in a way that made me feel almost naked, especially every time Edward blurred past, pausing long enough to stare at it. I couldn't read the emotions in his golden eyes and it was making me sweaty and nervous. 

There were two Portkeys left in the box. One would take us back to Forks, where the text message I'd sent Angela gave a very brief description of the situation and requested for her to contact Qiang to meet us there. Angela's response had been a touch on the heartening side ( _only you, Bella)_  but her good cheer about it all was influenced by the fact she didn't really understand the dangers of this situation. Qiang's response, I knew, would be wildly different. 

I couldn't shrink our belongings with my magic on the fritz, so Edward left them there for someone else to pick up and held out the Portkey. "Ready?" he asked, quietly.

"As I'll ever be." I sighed, linking hands with him, ignoring his slight stiffness at my touch as I entwined our fingers together, while reaching to touch the Portkey with my other hand. He activated the Portkey with a murmured;

" _Portus_." 

It was still night in America when we arrived, and found a spot to sit and watch the sun rise over the Grand Canyon. Edward had brought a thick coat for me to wear and I gladly shrugged it on and curled up into its warmth. 

As we waited, I lost the concept of time and how long we'd been sitting there. We watched as the dark sky was slowly washed out with a lavender that was spreading gradually with every passing moment, before the sun determinedly burst free. 

As it rose steadily, it painted reds, oranges and pinks into the horizon and the old wives tale about red sky in the morning popped into my head, the one that warned of approaching storms. It was... somewhat foreboding, and I pushed it from my mind, instead focusing on how the sky had turned golden above me before turning to cling onto Edward. 

I dug my fingernails uselessly into the marble skin between his shoulder-blades and held him tight against my body. I didn't ever want to let go-- the wildlife around us could burn to the ground, a host of chimeras could appear and attack, an army of crumple-horned snorkacks could come trampling through, and at this moment in time I just wanted to close my eyes and hold Edward as tight as my weak human limbs were able, hold him close to me and never let him go. 

Edward gave me until the sky had fully risen, his skin sparkling like diamonds under its bright, strong morning rays, before producing the final Portkey. There was a lump in my throat as I reached out to accept it, because I knew– this was it; my honeymoon, and my life as I currently knew it, was officially over.

" _Portus_."

A/N: Sorry it took so long to update. I'll definitely make an effort to ensure it doesn't take so long again.   
~ _Cheshire Carroll_


	14. Chapter 14

**CHAPTER FOURTEEN:**

   
**_San Cristóbal de las Casas, Mexico: Athenodora_ **

_Athenodora smirked smugly as she watched the latest attack. Concealed from the view of the attacking doctors by her brother's magic, she admired how her vampires didn't stop. Spells of fire made them rear back but the damage didn't reach them. Herpo, as much as she loathed him and the idea she'd had to rely on him, had outdone himself. Repeated spells would eventually wear down the protective shields, but by that time it would probably already be over._

_And her prediction proved correct. Triumph burned inside her as the last wizard's throat was torn out, leaving it in a messy pool of blood on the ground._

_She let the charms concealing her fade away and heard the whisper-soft sound of the footsteps of another vampire approaching her. The younger vampire stood a head shorter than her. Black hair slipped smooth over fine shoulders, eyelashes short and thick, features strong. The pearly-white teeth gleamed with venom, and the irises almost glowed they were such a vivid, bloodied red._

_"Warlord Maria," Athenodora greeted her._

_"My Queen," Maria said, smoothly. She paused, meeting the eyes of the older vampire with cautious respect. Athenodora bit back a smirk, both at the wariness and at the address. It had been some time since she'd been called a queen– she hadn't even realized that she'd missed it. "You were right, my Queen. Your... strange trinkets worked. We lost none of our own, and the attack squad of fifteen sorcerers were all neutralized– with great prejudice."_

_"Excellent." Athenodora purred, satisfaction curling inside her. "Oh this_ is _excellent. Now it is confirmed that it works, we need to increase the size of the army."_

_"Do we have a plan, my Queen?" questioned Maria, warily._

_"_ We _do not. However, I do." Athenodora bared her teeth in a lethal smile, the curve of it nothing short of bloodthirsty. "Increase the army to triple its current size. I want a minimum of sixty newborns. Every time any soldiers are killed off, make more. Do not bite weak humans, I want real soldiers. Strong ones. I also want you to recruit other warlords of the South to assist in managing the army. The sorcerers have reached the South, and they will be systematically taking each and every army down– you can win over the warlords by promising them the same protection I gifted you._

 _"_ _I want the strongest, the best– do not waste either of our time with ineffectual weaklings. If a warlord refuses an alliance, do not waste your time with them. They will be dead within days, therefore not our problem. And Maria?" Athenodora's eyes turned ice-cold as she_ _stared across_ _at the younger vampire. "Do not disappoint me. I gave you the pretty little trinkets that spared your life, and I can take them back. You will be dead next attack."_

_Maria had stiffened, looking like she could be carved from stone. "I will not disappoint you, my Queen."_

_"No. You will not." She agreed, before turning away, looking back over the newly created battleground, and the robed, bloodied bodies strewn over it._

_She was so close now she could almost taste it, like bitter ashes on her tongue._

-

-

**Forks, Washington: Bella Cullen**

Edward moved restlessly around the Weber's study, where the three of us had sequestered away from a concerned Angela and her family as Qiang moved her wand over my stomach, muttering different spells I didn't recognise. I could see him flicking through one of the books that had been laying open on the desk, but most of my attention was concentrated on the foreign magic I could feel sinking into my stomach. It made me uneasy, despite my trust in the older woman. 

"If I did not know better, I would say you were in your second trimester." Qiang said, finally. Her face was almost eerily blank. I closed my eyes for a short moment and exhaled, both hands finding the swell of my stomach. 

"That matches what I was guessing." I muttered, opening my eyes and looking back up at her. Qiang's dark-painted lips were pressed in a thin line and her sharp eyes were purposefully blank as they met mine. 

"You said you first noticed it on the 21st?" She asked, voice short, and I nodded. Her eyes narrowed in thought. "Assuming the foetus was conceived on October 6th, pregnancy stomach bumps usually become visible at around twelve to sixteen weeks. As it's your first pregnancy, I'd say it is likelier to have been closer to the sixteen-week equivalent then twelve. Comparing that to your stomach size now, I can only surmise that the growth of the foetus is increasing in speed. That means I cannot give you an accurate due date, but my best guess would be anywhere between the end of October to the first week of November. In two or three days, when I have more data about just how fast the speed of development is increasing, I'll be able to give you a more accurate estimate."

"Shit," I breathed, feeling my face pale. "That soon?"  

"Does that mean it's too far along to be removed?" Edward spoke up for the first time since we'd entered the study. 

"The foetus is at the equivalent age for a human foetus that abortion is illegal unless there's a significant health risk to either mother or child." Qiang confirmed shortly. 

"This surely qualifies as a significant health risk," Edward argued immediately. 

"No." I said, flatly. Edward turned to me, eyes angry and frantic. 

"Bella–"

"I'm not having an abortion, Edward." I interrupted him. "Surely you realised that? If I was going to get Qiang to remove the baby, then I would have gone to her the moment I realised I was pregnant in the first place!" 

Edward was visibly horrified and equally as frantic. "This could kill you!" He exclaimed. "It's a monster! We have to get it out before it can hurt you!" 

"It's our  _child_!" I argued, genuinely shocked by his words, his vehement statement. "Edward, it's our  _baby_! How could you say that?" 

"It's part vampire," he snarled. 

"You're not a monster! Not all vampires are evil, just like not all humans are!" I snarled right back, even through the tears I could feel pricking at my eyes. "Damn it, I thought we'd finished with all this shit!"

"Vampires are murderers," Edward spat. "It's our nature! This– this thing," he gestured violently towards my midriff, "is a murderer, and it will kill you!" 

He slammed the book he'd been looking over in front of me, open on the page of an inked illustration a naked, disemboweled woman, who was very dead, with an infant attached to the gaping wound of her midriff via what appeared to be an umbilical cord. I flinched away from the violent image, nausea rolling inside me, both my hands moving to my stomach, instinctively protective. 

"What the fuck is that?" 

"Ah," Qiang said, reaching out a slender hand with long, glossy purple nails to flip the book back closed. The cover of the book was cracked leather, the title stamped in gold leaf. "A bit of research on my part, after I got your message. I didn't realise I'd left it open." 

"Seriously, what the hell, Qiang?" I demanded, a thrill of fear rushing through me. Qiang looked back at me, properly looked, for the first time since we'd walked in. Her face was grave, and her eyes tired. 

"It's an old legend," She said, "from Greece, I believe. Of infants, conceived between young mortal maidens and beautiful, but ice-cold immortal monsters. The infant grows rapidly in the womb before tearing its way out of its mother, killing her and draining her of her blood for its first meal." 

I could feel the blood drain from my face, leaving it cold and numb. "You think it's about vampires." I whispered. 

"What I think is that the first recorded vampire was in Greece." Qiang said. "And that the similarities between that old legend, and the...  _infant_  you have conceived, cannot be denied." 

"That– that doesn't mean my baby is evil," I argued, cradling my swollen stomach protectively. "That doesn't mean any of those hybrids were evil! They were just  _babies_ , for Merlin's sake, they wouldn't mean to kill their mothers– a newborn vampire faced with freshly spilled blood wouldn't be able to stop itself from draining even their closest loved one, let alone an actual  _newborn_  newborn!" I glared fiercely at first Qiang, and then Edward. I didn't even realise I was crying until I tasted the salt on my lips. "We can figure this out– we don't have to wait until inborn instincts and screwed up biology tells the baby to chew their way through the womb, you can deliver them first Qiang!" I said fiercely. "It will all be fine!" 

"Bella," Edward reached a hand out towards me and I couldn't stop myself from flinching back. His expression was crushed, but cautious. "Breathe, Bella," he said, voice low and soothing. "In and out, breathe with me, love, in and out." I hadn't realised I was nearly hyperventilating in my panic and upset until he'd drawn attention to it. I concentrated on slowing my breathing back down and calming my racing heart. It helped when Edward started humming my lullaby. "Can I hug you, love?" He asked, after a few minutes. I hesitated, arms still both wrapped protectively around my stomach. "I won't touch it," he promised, and I trusted him not to lie to me, nodding at him. 

He moved across the room in a flash of movement too fast for my eyes to track and pulled me into his arms. I gladly slumped into his cool embrace and took deep shuddering breaths, my face buried in the crook of his shoulder. 

"You can't hurt my baby," I whispered, the words barely legible against the fabric of his shirt. He heard them anyway, because I could feel his shoulders hunch forward in defeat. 

"I won't." He murmured, words sounding tortured. "I couldn't ever hurt you like that, Bella. But the... foetus; it could kill you– surely you must realise that!" 

Some things are worth dying for, I thought but didn't say. Instead I told him the truth. "Our baby won't kill me. I have faith, Edward; I have faith in Qiang and Carlisle to keep me alive, in myself to stay alive, and in our child. I have faith that I'll survive this, Edward– and I need you to have faith in me."

"Your courage astounds me. It always has." He whispered. "But it terrifies me more."

-

We decided to set up a 'home base' of sorts at the Cullen's mansion in Forks, due to the mansion's size, location and, of course, all the hospital equipment already conveniently installed. Qiang had forbidden apparation travel, not that I could use my magic anyway, ordered me to limit my Portkey use and warned that floo travel would likely cause severe vomiting. That had just left driving, so when Qiang had transfigured poor Pastor Weber's desk into a hospital bed in order to perform a pelvic exam, I'd kicked Edward out, both for some privacy and so he could run over to the mansion to fetch a car for us. 

I was relieved when he returned and Qiang finished the exam, happy to escape the hundreds of questions she had, especially accompanied as they had been by poking and prodding in places I really didn't want poked and prodded (not by my future step-mother, anyway), and making a stratification retreat into the privacy of the Volvo. 

My short break, however, didn't last long– Charlie was already waiting for us at the Cullen's mansion. His cruiser was parked where the silver Volvo usually sat, on the days when the rain only drizzled lightly, and he was leaning up against it.  

"Oh Bella," he said, a look of almost total despair on his face as Edward helped me step out of the Volvo. I scowled and batted my husband's hands away. 

"I'm pregnant, not invalid!" I snapped. 

" _Bella's_ _PREGNANT_ _!?_ " This much louder exclamation came from within the house. A second later, Emmett practically fell out of one of the second floor windows, though he managed to twist gracefully in the air and land feet-first on the wet ground below. Rosalie emerged gracefully from the front door a heart beat later, with not a hair out of place despite my strong suspicion she'd likely pushed Emmett out that window. 

"How do you get into these situations, Bella?" My father was groaning, running both his hands through his hair. 

"Why does everyone keep asking that?" I demanded sulkily. Baby nudged my bladder in a way that could almost be construed as affectionate, or consoling. It could also be construed as  _'oh holy fuck I need to pee now now_ NOW!'

The last bit I may have said out loud, because cold vampire arms were whisking me away to the closest bathroom, where I didn't bother with any sort of grace or attempted modesty, instead yanking the skirt of the white sundress up above my hips and sitting down heavily on the porcelain throne. It was only after the nearly unbearable pressure on my bladder had decreased dramatically that I took in the savior. 

It was not who I was expecting. 

"Er, Rosalie?" I asked tentatively, wondering if I should be testing to see if the vampire with me was an imposter. Belatedly I remembered Edward's Gift, which was the best lie detector in existence, seeing as it could pick up lies before people even made them up, alerting him to their intention to conceal the truth before they could even concoct a falsehood. So I was pretty sure it really was Rosalie, unbelievable as that sounded. I just had to figure out why she was acting like she'd just been replaced by someone that had no idea how Rosalie had acted towards me, even after she'd thawed out somewhat looking after Luna and Bree.

Rosalie smiled softly at me, which made me blink several times and wonder if I'd stepped into some sort of twilight zone. "Here, let me help you to the couch," she said, in her sweet, chiming voice. I thought about protesting– I was tired and my limbs felt weak, but not to the point where I needed help. Still, Rosalie was being  _nice_  to me, I wanted this to last as long as possible. 

I washed my hands in a bit of a daze then let the blonde vampire wrap a careful arm around my waist and walk with me to the lounge room. It was empty, but blankets and pillows had been laid across one of the couches, and a big steel mixing-bowl had been placed on the coffee table– for the vomiting, was my guess. 

"Where are the others?" I asked as I sat down, privately relieved to take the weight off my ankles. A suspicious look down at them made me think they looked a little swollen. 

"In the study," Rosalie answered. "Edward is on conference call with Alice and Carlisle. Charlie just made him put it on loud speaker so he and Qiang can hear both parts of the conversation. Carlisle is still in Alaska with Esme, Bree and Fred, but he's going to talk with the Denalis about all of them moving here."

"All of them moving? As in the Denalis too?" I asked, both concerned and skeptical. "That's a big thing, temporary as the move would be with the, er, short gestation period Qiang predicted." 

I didn't even  _want_  the Denalis here anyway. 

"That's actually where Alice comes in." Rosalie said calmly. "She suggested it." My heart started beating a bit too quickly as the sudden realization struck me, and the palms of my hands were damp with sweat as I dug my nails into them. 

"Alice and Jasper aren't with the others," I stated more then asked, feeling sick at the thought of them being so... vulnerable. Peter and Charlotte had warned us that there were a lot of upset vampires out there– and I wasn't sure if the Auror hit squads would stop before destroying the two of them. I hadn't talked to Hermione yet, hadn't heard all the updates on the whole letting some vampires live scenario if they are 'vegetarians' or have taken a Vow. 

"They were following a lead from Peter," Rosalie explained, "there are a number of people going missing in Mexico."

"I don't understand," I frowned. 

"The type of people going missing, both their physical builds and their occupations, and the areas they're missing from– it's a pattern that both Peter and Jasper recognized." Rosalie said, her jaw tensing slightly in stress. "Maria, it seems, is determined not to go down without a fight. And with the Volturi gone, apparently she isn't trying to hide anymore."

"So you think she's biting innocent people to make an army of newborns to fight the Aurors?" I asked, stricken at the thought. I clearly remembered Jasper telling us his story, about the wars in the South, the newborn armies and his creator, Maria. "All those innocent people," I breathed in horror. "And it's my fault they're being killed or Turned, because I'm the one who–"

"No, it's not your fault," Rosalie interrupted me, her words strong and firm.  "Vampires, in general, are monsters, and they've been allowed to run unchecked for far too long. You're saving lives, Bella. It may not seem like it in the short term, but if in ten years time the only vampires left are those under Vows, imagine all the lives spared as humans are no longer hunted by us." 

"Every war has casualties." I said, the words as hollow as I felt. Rosalie's hand touched my cheek, the comforting gesture feather-light but oddly still soothing. 

"Unfortunately, that's true." She said, soft and sad. "People will die- vampires, witches and wizards, and the innocents who have no part in this. But it will make the world a better place."

 


	15. Chapter 15

**CHAPTER FIFTEEN:**   
  


_Previously:_

_"Unfortunately, that's true." Rosalie said, soft and sad. "People will die- vampires, witches and wizards, and the innocents who have no part in this. But it will make the world a better place."_

"Thank you, Rosalie." I told her, grateful for her words. It didn't take away the pain I felt about it, but I did appreciate her trying to make me feel better. Rosalie smiled softly in response. 

"You're welcome, Bella." Her voice was warm, and I finally cracked, unable to stay silent about the elephant in the room. 

"I... don't mean to be rude or anything, but... you're acting really strangely." I said, my cheeks warming as I blushed slightly in embarrassment. 

"Ah," Rosalie said, softly. "I suppose I am behaving in a way that, from your perspective, is... unusual." She sighed heavily. "I'm very sorry. I'm probably confusing you."

"A bit." I admitted. She made a soft, amused sound, before her expression turned serious. 

"I'm not sure if anyone has ever told you," she said slowly, her voice very quiet and lacking the confidence from before, "but do you know the story behind how I was Turned?" 

I shook my head. "No, no-one's ever told me." I said, my voice going quiet too, despite the fact I knew pretty much everyone who was in the house would be able to hear us. It just didn't feel like the sort of conversation where you should speak loudly. "But I'm not oblivious, or naïve. I mean... I know it was bad– the really, truly awful sort of bad. I've, well, I've kind of picked up things. Like how Esme suggested when it was discovered from the police reports that Bree was abused and assaulted by her father that you should be the one to talk to her. And I know you helped Luna work through her trauma from being tortured while she was held captive– you still do help her. So... well, I'm pretty sure I have a good idea of how your story goes, but I guess I've always hoped I was wrong." My mouth turned down, though, as I looked at Rosalie's tragically beautiful face. "I'm not, though." I exhaled heavily, my insides twisting in both pity and anger at those who had hurt her. 

Rosalie smiled sadly at me, shaking her lovely head. "No," she murmured, quietly resigned. "No you're not."

"You don't have to tell me," I said. 

"I know," she said, with a soft look on her face now. "But I want to. Really, it's you who doesn't truly need to hear it. It's certainly not a very nice story. Then again, none of ours are. Carlisle always made a point of Turning us only when there were no other options." I adjusted myself so I was sitting up straighter on the couch, and looked her dead in the eye. 

"You're my sister now." I said, firmly. "And I may not need to hear it, and Merlin, listening to it is probably going to break my heart, but it's part of you, what happened, and if you're comfortable telling me then I'd like to know, so that I can support you however I can." 

Rosalie touched my cheek again with her fingertips. "You are a very special sort of person, Bella Cullen." She said and smiled slightly, her mouth curving up slightly in a way that was more bitter then it was amused. "I used to not like you. I'm sure you realised that– I never really tried very hard to hide that. Especially not before we left after your seventeenth birthday party." She then sighed again. "But I never told you why I didn't like you."

"I was a risk to your family." I said with a shrug. "I put you all in danger– I wouldn't have liked me either."

"Yes you would have," Rosalie said, her smile less hard and more genuine now. 

"Okay, maybe," I agreed, "or probably. Still, I do get it." 

"I won't deny that the danger you put our family in originally contributed to my dislike, but that's not the reason I treated you so unforgivably." Rosalie said, now with a self-deprecating look. "The truth is much less noble. I was jealous of you."

I looked at her, wide-eyed. "Jealous?" I repeated, stunned and unable to believe it. "Of me?  _Me_?" I gestured down at myself. "I'm so... ordinary! The only really interesting thing about me is my magic– and amongst my kind, I don't even have that, I'm just your average witch– and you, Rosalie, you're  _you_!"

"I'm beautiful." Rosalie agreed. "And rich and forever young– every woman's dream." She gave a short laugh, the sound of it sharp and deprecating. "Frozen forever; never ageing, never moving forward– never able to conceive a child. That's why I was so jealous, Bella; why I still am. I might be more beautiful then you, but I'd trade my beauty any day to have what you do– the chance to be a mother."

I looked at her, stunned to silence. She closed her beautiful golden eyes, pained. "Oh Bella," she said, softly, mournful almost. "When I was human, I lived in a different world than you do. The early twentieth century was a much simpler place– and so was my human world. It was nineteen thirty-three. I was eighteen, and I was beautiful. My life was perfect."

She opened her eyes again but didn't look at me, instead stared at her lap, her expression far away.

"My parents were thoroughly upper middle class, but they wanted more. They had social aspirations– social climbers, I suppose you could call them. My beauty was like a gift to them. They saw so much more potential in it than I did. They weren't satisfied, but I was. I was thrilled to be me, to be Rosalie Hale. Pleased that men's eyes watched me everywhere I went, from the year I turned twelve. Delighted that my girlfriends sighed with envy when they touched my hair. Happy that my mother was proud of me and that my father liked to buy me pretty dresses.

"I knew what I wanted out of life, and there didn't seem to be any way that I wouldn't get exactly what I wanted. I wanted to be loved, to be adored. I wanted to have a huge, flowery wedding, where everyone in town would watch me walk down the aisle on my father's arm and think I was the most beautiful thing they'd ever seen. Admiration was like air to me, Bella. I was silly and shallow, but I was content." She smiled, bitterly amused at her own evaluation. "As I said, shallow. Young and very shallow. And I didn't see any reason why I wouldn't get these things. There were very few things I wanted that were actually meaningful. Really only one thing in particular. 

"You see, my very closest friend was a girl named Vera. She married young, just seventeen. She married a man my parents would never have considered for me, a carpenter, and a year later she had a son, a beautiful little boy with dimples and curly black hair. It was the first time I'd ever felt truly jealous of anyone else in my entire life."

Rosalie looked at me with unfathomable eyes. "It was a different time. I was only eighteen, but I was ready for it all. I yearned for my own little baby. I wanted my own house and a husband who would kiss me when he got home from work– just like Vera. Only I had a very different kind of house in mind..."

Rosalie sighed, and when she spoke again her voice was different, the wistfulness gone. In its place was a coldness, though not directed towards me. 

"In Rochester, there was one royal family– the Kings, ironically enough. Royce King owned the bank my father worked at, and nearly every other really profitable business in town. That's how his son, Royce King the Second" –her mouth twisted around the name, it came out through her teeth; the villain of this story was abruptly clear now– "saw me the first time. He was going to take over at the bank, and so he began overseeing the different positions. Two days later, my mother conveniently forgot to send my father's lunch to work with him. I remember being confused when she insisted that I wear my white organza and roll my hair up just to run over to the bank." Rosalie laughed again without humor.

"I didn't notice Royce watching me particularly. Everyone watched me. But that night the first of the roses came. Every night of our courtship, he sent a bouquet of roses to me. My room was always overflowing with them. It got to the point that I would smell like roses when I left the house. Royce was handsome, too. He had lighter hair than I did, and pale blue eyes. He said my eyes were like violets, and then those started showing up alongside the roses.

"My parents approved–that's putting it mildly. This was everything they'd dreamed of. And Royce seemed to be everything I'd dreamed of. The fairy tale prince, come to make me a princess. Everything I wanted, yet it was still no more than I expected. We were engaged before I'd known him for two months. We didn't spend a great deal of time alone with each other. Royce told me he had many responsibilities at work, and, when we were together, he liked people to look at us, to see me on his arm. I liked that, too. There were lots of parties, dancing, and pretty dresses. When you were a King, every door was open for you, every red carpet rolled out to greet you.

"It wasn't a long engagement. Plans went ahead for the most lavish wedding. It was going to be everything I'd ever wanted. I was completely happy. When I called at Vera's, I no longer felt jealous. I pictured my fair-haired children playing on the huge lawns of the Kings' estate, and I pitied her."

Rosalie broke off suddenly, clenching her teeth together. It pulled me out of her story, and I understood then that the horror was not far off. There would be no happy ending, as she'd promised. I wondered if this was why she had so much more bitterness in her than the rest of them– because she'd been within reach of everything she'd wanted when her human life was cut short. Or perhaps it was the horror of her last night as human. 

"I was at Vera's that night," Rosalie whispered. Her face was smooth as marble, and as hard. "Her little Henry really was adorable, all smiles and dimples– he was just sitting up on his own. Vera walked me to the door as I was leaving, her baby in her arms and her husband at her side, his arm around her waist. He kissed her on the cheek when he thought I wasn't looking. That bothered me. When Royce kissed me, it wasn't quite the same– not so sweet somehow... I shoved that thought aside. Royce was my prince. Someday, I would be queen."

It was hard to tell, but it looked like her bone white face got paler. Mine certainly was. I felt like I was about to be sick. 

"It was dark in the streets, the lamps already on. I hadn't realized how late it was." She continued to whisper almost inaudibly. "It was cold, too. Very cold for late April. The wedding was only a week away, and I was worrying about the weather as I hurried home– I can remember that clearly. I remember every detail about that night. I clung to it so hard... in the beginning. I thought of nothing else. And so I remember this, when so many pleasant memories have faded away completely..."

She made a harsh sound, grief mixed with anger. "Yes, I was worrying about the weather... I didn't want to have to move the wedding indoors... I was just a few streets from my house when I heard them. A cluster of men under a broken streetlamp, laughing too loud. Drunk. I wished I'd called my father to escort me home, but the way was so short, it seemed silly. And then he called my name. 'Rose!' he yelled, and the others laughed stupidly.

"I hadn't realized the drunks were so well dressed. It was Royce and some of his friends, sons of other rich men. 'Here's my Rose!' Royce shouted, laughing with them, sounding just as stupid. 'You're late. We're cold, you've kept us waiting so long.' I'd never seen him drink before. A toast, now and then, at a party. He'd told me he didn't like champagne. I hadn't realized that he preferred something much stronger. He had a new friend– a friend of a friend, come up from Atlanta. 'What did I tell you, John,' Royce crowed, grabbing my arm and pulling me closer. 'Isn't she lovelier than all your Georgia peaches?' The man named John was dark-haired and suntanned. He looked me over like I was a horse he was buying. 'It's hard to tell,' he drawled slowly. 'She's all covered up.' They laughed, Royce like the rest.

"Suddenly, Royce ripped my jacket from my shoulders– it was a gift from him– popping the brass buttons off. They scattered all over the street. 'Show him what you look like, Rose!' He laughed again and then he tore my hat out of my hair. The pins wrenched my hair from the roots, and I cried out in pain. They seemed to enjoy that– the sound of my pain."

My stomach lurched violently and I twisted in place on the sofa to throw up in the silver mixing-bowl that had been placed out in case I couldn't make it to the bathroom. Rosalie's cold hands held my hair back from my face until I'd finished retching. When I slumped back on the couch, panting slightly, she wiped my face clean with a wet cloth someone had brought in while I was busy being sick. Whoever it was had gone now, giving us the privacy, I was guessing, for Rosalie to finish her grisly tale. An illusion of privacy, after all, was better then no illusion at all. 

"Sorry." I whispered to her, a touch ashamed. Tears stung in my eyes and I angrily wiped them away, frustrated at my weakness. "That just... hit close to home. And everything in my body's kind of topsy-turvy right now." 

"I'm sorry too," Rosalie said, her eyes drifting to my stomach. She laid a cool hand palm down on the protruding curve of my abdomen. "This isn't something you need to hear." I shook my head. 

"It's okay." I told her, firmly. "Well, not the story," I amended, "that's just... awful beyond words. But I'd like to hear how it ends. That there was some justice." I said, darkly. 

Rosalie's answering smile was anything but warm. "Oh there was justice... of a sort." She promised, menace in her voice, as well as a thin amusement. "There's a very fine line between justice and vengeance, after all."

"Good." I said, and I meant it. 

Rosalie smiled again, this time warmer, and then continued her story, her hand still over my stomach, as if she was taking comfort, or maybe strength, from the baby growing inside me. 

"They left me in the street," she said, skipping any further details from the violent rape. I couldn't help but feel selfishly relieved she was sparing me. "They left me in the street, still laughing as they stumbled away. They thought I was dead. They were teasing Royce that he would have to find a new bride. He laughed and said he'd have to learn some patience first. I waited in the road to die. It was cold, though there was so much pain that I was surprised it bothered me. It started to snow, and I wondered why I wasn't dying. I was impatient for death to come, to end the pain. It was taking so long...

"Carlisle found me then. He'd smelled the blood, and come to investigate. I remember being vaguely irritated as he worked over me, trying to save my life. I'd never liked Dr. Cullen or his wife and her brother– as Edward pretended to be then. It had upset me that they were all more beautiful than I was, especially that the men were. But they didn't mingle in society, so I'd only seen them once or twice." Rosalie shook her head, and blinked back venom tears that she couldn't shed.

"Shallow as I was, I felt better when I saw my reflection in the mirror the first time. Despite the eyes, I was the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen." Rosalie said softly, and she laughed at herself for a moment. "It took some time before I began to blame the beauty for what had happened to me– for me to see the curse of it. To wish that I had been... well, not ugly, but normal. Like Vera. So I could have been allowed to marry someone who loved me, and have pretty babies. That's what I'd really wanted, all along. It still doesn't seem like too much to have asked for."

"It wasn't." I agreed, my heart breaking for her. "I hope you made it hurt– really,  _really_  hurt."

"Oh I did," Rosalie confirmed grimly. "I've never tasted human blood– I didn't want any part of them in me– but they didn't get off lightly. I made sure not to spill their blood, I knew I wouldn't be able to resist that, but really; I consider my record as clean as Carlisle's. I don't count any of  _them_  as anything even approaching  _human_." She clarified, before smiling a downright lethal smile. "I saved Royce for last. I hoped that he would hear of his friends' deaths and understand, know what was coming for him. I hoped the fear would make the end worse for him. I hope it worked– I certainly  _think_  it did. He was hiding inside a windowless room, behind a door as thick as a bank vault's that was guarded outside by armed men when I caught up with him. I was overly theatrical. It was kind of childish, really. I wore a wedding dress I'd stolen for the occasion. He screamed when he saw me. He screamed a lot that night. Saving him for last was a good idea; it made it easier for me to control myself, to make it slower–" She broke off suddenly, and she glanced at me. "I'm sorry," she said in a chagrined voice. "I'm being horrifying, aren't I?"

"Believe me when I say that's nothing I haven't imagined doing to the Death Eaters who have hurt me and my friends." I assured her grimly. "Definitely not human." I added, mouth curling in disgust, "more like disgusting, mud-crawling  _maggots_  in human form."

"I am mostly happy with my life now." Rosalie said, with almost an air of quiet confession to her statement. "I have Emmett, of course, who I love. And the others in the coven are my family, who I love even when they annoy me. But my heart still aches, even nearly eighty years now since I was Turned, for my own little baby with dimples." 

"I wish you could have that. You deserve it." I told her, heart hurting. "I can't give you a baby of your own, but I think you'll make an amazing auntie. And if I don't survive this... well, it's a relief to know that my baby will have family who can love it as much as I would have." Rosalie's face immediately transformed, from the desolate, half-accepting expression she'd worn to something ferociously determined. Gripping the arm of the sofa near my head with a grip that had the wood underneath the leather creaking in protest, she leaned forwards so her flashing golden eyes were within spitting distance of my own. 

"Don't you say that!" she said, fiercely. "You will survive this, Bella– you  _will_!"

"Believe me, I plan to be there to watch my little nudger grow up," I confirmed, touched by her obvious care for me. "But even normal births go wrong, and this... this does leave a lot up to chance. But I will fight until my last breath, and I will never give up." 

It wasn't that I wasn't afraid. I  _was_. I was terrified, in fact. But courage isn't the absence of fear, after all, but the strength to fight it despite its weight pressing down against you– not conquering it for yourself, but refusing to succumb to fear for a reason that surpasses you, something far bigger. 

My little nudger was that something bigger (literally– my stomach seems to have grown another three centimeters since the last time I saw it), and definitely worth summoning up every little bit of Gryffindor-ish courage I possessed.


	16. Chapter 16

**CHAPTER SIXTEEN:**

 

Edward entered the living room on silent feet and Rosalie straightened up, moving to her feet in a graceful, fluid movement. "I need a moment." She said, softly. I watched her glide from the room, a worried frown on my face.

"She'll be okay." Edward said, quietly. I smiled half-heartedly at him.

"Yeah. She's strong. Doesn't mean I don't feel sad for her." Edward sat down on the couch beside me and wrapped an arm around me. I leaned into him and exhaled, closing my eyes. "Merlin, that sucks." I muttered. "I've never... pregnancy, motherhood; neither have ever really been a thing for me. I've never thought about them, outside of not wanting a kid. Or, at least, I didn't want a kid. Until this. Until now. Now there's a baby of my own growing in me. And I love it already– my life is going to change completely, but as horribly sappy as it sounds I already can't imagine it otherwise."

"You're right– that is horribly sappy," Edward teased. I opened my eyes again and looked up at him. He looked tired and there were tight lines on his face, but his golden eyes were soft now, not hard and angry.

"I am sorry I didn't tell you." I told him quietly. "It was a really crappy thing to do. And it was unbelievably selfish of me. And I know it's not a proper excuse, but I was trying to process the fact my whole life was about to change forever, and... I was scared. Because the baby is growing quickly, and I'm not naïve enough to think that doesn't spell trouble– the sort of trouble that could potentially kill me. So I tried to pretend it wasn't happening; hiding it from you meant hiding it from myself, and what it could and would mean. Obviously both didn't work out, not exactly anyway. But I do know this– this is our child, Edward. I'm not against abortion, I do understand it, and I certainly don't condemn women who undergo it, but I won't do it. It would kill me, and do so far more completely and devastatingly then carrying and giving birth to a vampire hybrid ever could, no matter the high risks I know are involved. And I'm sorry that you're being hurt by this, but that's the way it is."

Edward cupped my face with his cold hands, leaning forwards to gently rest his forehead against mine. "It's behind us, Bella. And I can't say that I'm happy about this, but I'm not going to demand you have the foetus removed."

"The  _baby_."

"Pardon?" he asked. "What about it?"

"Yeah," I said flatly, " _that_. You and Qiang, you're both not calling our child a baby. Just 'the foetus'. Or 'it'."

Edward closed his eyes and exhaled, his cool breath brushing against my face. "I'm trying, Bella. I haven't had time to process yet." He said, quietly. "I don't mean to bring it up, but you did have five days. I've had a few hours. I'm trying." I winced.

"Sorry. I'm sorry." Edward grimaced.

"No, don't apologize, love. I shouldn't have said that, it was petty. This is... just not a situation either of us expected to find ourselves in. I dare say, me even more then you."

"Watch it, hubby," I grumbled half-heartedly. "I'm the one carrying our darling, little love-child right now, which involves vomiting my guts up multiple times a day, bloating, swollen ankles, sore breasts and the headache I am currently experiencing."

"Ah, my apologies," Edward said, with a slight smile. "I just meant that your body was always capable of conceiving a child, I just didn't realise mine was. I always thought it was impossible."

"Apparently it was just improbable." I sighed. "Everything about this situation is improbable– we're going to be the world's most improbable and unconventional family: the witch, the vampire and the hybrid." 

Probably despite himself, Edward's lips quirked into a brief smile. "You should rest," he said, gently. "Maybe a nap will get rid of the headache." I nodded.

"I am pretty tired." I admitted. 

"Bed or couch?" He asked. 

"Couch is fine. I'm not quite bedridden yet." I said, wriggling down along the couch so I was stretched out along it. Edward gently adjusted the blankets, tucking me up. I felt a bit like a child, but I was also cozy and comfortable and easily drifted off. 

-

When I woke up, it felt like my hormones had been kicked into overdrive– the good kind of hormones, that is; the ones that made me want to mount my husband and ride him for days. Not that that was exactly possible with my current...  _growth_. Not that I was the 'abstain from sex during pregnancy' sort of girl, of course, despite my complete lack of urge to do anything with Edward the past two days. But right now I didn't have a headache, I didn't feel any nausea and my breasts didn't hurt. It was the most normal I'd felt in days, apart from the insistent throbbing between my legs. 

"You're awake," the very welcome voice of my husband said. 

"Mmm," I hummed, pushing myself up so I was in a sitting position. He, of course, leaned over to help. Looking around the room, blinking away the last vestiges of sleep, I couldn't see anyone else. "Where are the others?" I asked, casually as I could. 

"Charlie went back to his house to pack a bag." Edward explained. "He then has a night shift at work, but is planning to arrange to take the next two months off. Qiang left when he did, off to do research. Rosalie and Emmett left before they both did for some alone time– it's hard for Rose to talk about that night. They said they'll be back in what's now about half an hour."

Half an hour. I could definitely work with that, I decided. 

I wasn't sure how to go about convincing Edward to have sex with my very pregnant self, but he managed to solve that particular dilemma for me by leaning down to place what was probably intended on being a chaste but loving kiss on my lips. The second his lips touched mine, though, I immediately deepened it, because with his mouth pressed against mine I wanted him so much that it was as if my entire world had shrunk down to Edward's mouth, his tongue, his hands,  _god, his hands_ ; had I mentioned how much I loved his hands?

Currently, those hands I loved were gently cradling my face, holding me like I was something so utterly precious, his thumbs rubbing gentle circles over my cheekbones, and if I wasn't so greedy I could probably stay like that forever.

But I was that greedy, and I was distracted from the kiss by an entirely seperate desire, a need for far more then what I was getting. Now that my husband was actually touching me again, I wanted  _everything_  and my nerves were already tingling with anticipation as my core throbbed with wet heat. 

Edward tried to move back, but I clung stubbornly to him, like a very sexy limpet– growth aside. 

"Bella–" he predictably tried to protest, but I interrupted. 

"Come on, Edward!" I complained, annoyed. "Haven't you worked out by now that that doesn't work? We've got the house for, like, twenty-five more minutes– let's make the most of it!"

"Bella, you should be taking it easy." He said gently. "You're pregnant, remember?"

"Of course I bloody  _remember_  I'm bloody  _pregnant_ , Edward!" I snapped, even more annoyed now. "After all, I'm the one who has the morning sickness, the nausea, people constantly touching my stomach, invading my personal space–"

"Mood swings," Edward suggested, lips twitching suspiciously. 

"And increased sex drive," I finished, arms crossed under my breasts, which felt a bit odd. They'd increased about a cup size and felt heavy and awkward. "I read about it– everything down there gets all engorged from extra blood blow and sensitive and stuff. And soon I'll be even more bloated then I am now and all gross, so I want sex while you can still look at me."

"You'll always be beautiful to me, Bella," Edward said earnestly, the loveable lug, before his face tightened. "And I think you're losing more weight then you're gaining, love." He traced his fingertips over my cheekbones, concern on his handsome features. 

"You say the unsexiest things." I muttered. "Nothing tastes right. It keeps coming up when I try to eat. Now are we doing it or not?"

"And  _I_  say the unsexiest things?" He teased, and I scowled at him before tugging the skirt of the sundress up above my hips then hooking around sides of the underwear I was wearing with my thumbs. 

"This is the first time in two days I've felt the urge to do the tango for two– now be a good husband and fulfill your marital duty." I ordered. 

"I'm not going to have sex with you, Bella." Edward said, gently but firmly. "That's what got us in this situation to start with. But," he added, when I started to glare at him, "weren't you the one who first brought up there being more to sex then just penetration?"

"What are you– oh. Oh! Yes, I like that idea– let's do that," I said, suddenly enthusiastic about the direction the conversation had taken. Edward chuckled, his mouth turned up in the crooked smile I loved. He gently nudged my thighs apart so he could stand between them and kiss me. "I can think of better things for that mouth to be doing," I said breathlessly, between kisses. He chuckled again. 

"Very well, I get the hint," he said, before lowering himself down so he was kneeling in front of the sofa, between my spread legs. He made a gorgeous picture there, and I bit back a moan as his hands replaced mine, hooking through my panties and tugging them down over my hips, with me wriggling on the couch and shifting my weight so he could tug them down past my butt, and then down my legs. 

I shivered as he softly ran his fingertips along the sensitive exposed skin of my inner thighs, my legs twitching. I always felt a bit self-conscious when I was exposed like this, as well as frustrated that he wasn't touching me already where I wanted him to, where I needed him. "Come on, come on, don't tease!" I hissed impatiently, "we don't have time, come on– ooh!" 

Edward had always been a quick learner. This particular... 'field' was no different. He knew how to play me, to play my body, as well as his piano; he knew when to retract his tongue, how to press forward and twist, when to apply suction, or to blow gently, and when to slide back in.

Soon, I had one hand tangled in his hair, pushing his head further into me as I stared down at him. Without losing even an ounce of concentration or focus on his task, he switched his attention up to my eyes; his were dark with desire as he closed his mouth flush against me, pressing against me ever so slightly with the blunt part of his teeth, and  _oh god, there it was_ ; I reached my brink with a choked cry, trembling with it and squeezing his head with my thighs as I tumbled over. 

I must have lost a few seconds while enjoying the blissful after-waves, because the next thing I was aware of was Edward smoothing the skirt of the dress back down over my legs. 

Sated and wanting to return the favor, I reached out to grab the expensive leather of his belt with one hand, reaching out for the buckle with the other. He gently brushed my hand away before I could reach it. 

"Plenty of time for that later, my love," he said. 

"Not now?" There was undeniably a hint of a whine in my voice, and his eyes crinkled with amusement. 

"Not unless you'd appreciate an audience."

"Voyeurism isn't one of the kinks I've discovered since my sexual awakening." I conceded. "Though under the right circumstances, it could be kind of hot."

"Maybe." He laughed, and I was pleased to see how much more relaxed he seemed now. "But I don't think my siblings are involved in those particular circumstances." He paused for a moment and rolled his eyes. "Though Emmett and Rose might disagree."

I gave a surprised laugh. "Out of all of you, those two do strike me most as the swinger type." I snickered. Edward shook his head, still smiling. 

"Less swingers, more just perverts." 

"The things you learn about your new in-laws when you're married!" I laughed. 

Still sated and feeling all sorts of light and floaty, I laid back along the couch as Edward opened the windows, presumably to air out the room. My cheeks warmed a bit at the thought Emmett and Rosalie would have a pretty good idea of what we'd been up to, and where Edward's head had been a few minutes ago, but I was too loose-limbed and happy to really care. 

Of course, that's when Edward's phone rang. He answered, then passed it to me. "It's Alice," he said, before smiling slightly. "I'm going to go clean up– I'll be back in a moment." 

"Clean– ah, right." My cheeks burned a bit hotter as he gestured to his face. "Hey Alice," I said, lifting the phone to my ear. 

She, it turned out, was not happy with me. 

"Bella. You've officially given me a headache." She snapped. I blinked, feeling uncertain. 

"Um, sorry?" I offered. 

"You should be!" She growled lightly. "Do you know how hard it is trying to see your future right now? Well let me enlighten you– it's like I'm trying to see through bad reception on a television screen! And I can't see the foetus at all!" 

"The  _baby_ , Alice," I corrected her, annoyed. Why did everyone keep doing that? "Stop dehumanising my child by calling them a foetus. It won't work."

"Oh it's working just fine for me," she muttered darkly. 

"Did you ring us to do anything but yell at me and imply my baby is a monster that I should kill?" I snapped. "Because I don't actually need to listen to this, you know!" Alice exhaled noisily, the sound sharp and frustrated. 

"I didn't mean to yell. I'm just frustrated." She said. "I can't see your future, Bella– do you know how terrifying that is? It's almost like you're dead. When I stopped getting visions of you I just assumed it was because I was trying to tune out of all the sex you were having with my brother. And then I learn that you're pregnant, and when I force myself to See, your future is so blurry I'm not even sure what I'm Seeing! Can you see why I might be upset right now?" 

"That's sort of interesting, you know." I said, purposefully not answering. "You can see normal humans, witches and wizards and vampires, but not shifters or apparently vampire hybrids."

"Yes, very interesting." Alice said flatly. She then paused. "Okay, fine, it is interesting." She conceded. "But it's not what I'm worried about right now."

"Don't worry about me, or give yourself a migraine trying to see my future. You need to stay sharp– you're in dangerous territory right now, in case you've forgotten." 

"That was the other reason I rang, actually. Jasper and I got into touch with one of the old warlords." She paused, and I could practically see her worry. "It's not good, Bella– he said Maria approached him about joining forces against the hit wizard squad– he called them sorcerers. He said that she talked about having special objects that would protect him from the sorcerer's magic."

I sucked in a startled breath. "Maria got her hands on some sort of protection charms? How in Merlin's name did she manage that?" I asked, shocked. 

"So it's true? It's possible?" Alice demanded. 

"In a manner of speaking, yeah it's possible. It's not my area of expertise, warding objects, or imbuing them with protection charms. And the spells would weaken every time they were used. What Maria's talking about is powerful magic– really powerful."

"If I had one of those objects, would you be able to get any useful information from it?" Alice asked. I frowned.

"Unless I knew the person who cast the magic well enough to recognise their magical signature, I wouldn't be able to learn much about who cast it, but I might be able to say what sort of spells were on it. There are others though, experts in this sort of thing, that could learn much more. Why? Do you have one?"

"We will." Alice said. "Got to go, sorry. Bye Bella!"

"Wait, Alice–" I said, alarmed, but she'd already hung up. "Oh hell. This isn't good." I muttered, lowering the phone down from my ear to stare at it. "Shit. This is  _so_  not good."

 


	17. Chapter 17

_"Wait, Alice–" I said, alarmed, but she'd already hung up. "Oh hell. This isn't good." I muttered, lowering the phone down from my ear to stare at it. "Shit. This is so not good."_

**CHAPTER SEVENTEEN:**

"Bella?" Edward asked, entering the room. His face was concerned. "Is everything okay?" 

"No, Edward," I said, frustrated and upset. I could feel that choked up feeling inside my throat I got when I was about to cry, which both upset and frustrated me even more. "No everything is not okay! I'm pregnant and fat and might be dying and Alice and Jasper are doing something goddamned fucking stupid!"

Edward's face went taut, an unmistakable sign of stress on him. "What did she say?" He asked, eyes more black then gold meeting my own with an unmistakable dread visible in their depths. I buried my face in my hands, still fighting back the overly persistent tears threatening to start leaking, and I felt him settle down on the couch beside me, felt one of his arms drape comfortingly over my shoulders, the long fingers of his hand lightly curled over my skin. His thumb rubbed soft circles on my collarbone, the motion soothing.

His words as he spoke, however, were not soothing at all. "You're not fat," he said quietly, his tone carefully balanced, though I could hear the traces of _concern-fear-anger-fear_ running through it– I knew him too well for him to hide it from me. "You're pregnant, you should have gained weight and you partially have– or rather, the foetus has gained weight as it's grown. You, on the other hand, have lost weight. I wasn't going to mention it yet, back on Isle Esme before I knew the truth about your... condition, because I thought it was a psychological issue, something that we could put off dealing with until after our honeymoon was over, but now... Bella, I haven't seen you this thin since you first arrived at Forks."

I lifted my head from my hands so I could glare at Edward by my side, only for my glare to falter as I saw the expression on my husband's face.

Edward looked terrified. It wasn't even well hidden– he looked blatantly terrified.

There was a lot on our plate right now, I reflected guiltily; there was the baby, the murderously pissed off vampire covens who blamed the Cullens and wanted revenge for them all being wiped out, the mysterious person– well, when I said 'person' I meant that in the loosest possible definition of the word– who was responsible for pointing all those angry survivors in the Cullen's direction so they presumably had some sort of murderous grudge too, as well as apparent access to a very powerful witch or wizard, and, as if all of that wasn't enough, now Alice and Jasper had decided to go and investigate the mysterious figure themselves, putting them both in horrible, horrible danger.

Altogether, I was game enough to admit, it was too much for me right now and I was unable to hold back the threatening tears any longer.

Reluctant, but remembering our promise to be honest with each other, I resigned myself to all Edward's future worrying because as much as I would have preferred to lie through my teeth then, I knew I owed Edward my honesty. Even if it was going to scare him.

"When I first figured out I was pregnant I was still able to keep down some food," I admitted, "but I can barely convince myself to put it in my mouth now it's so unappealing, and even if I do and by some miracle– and by miracle I mean with the aid of a LOT of anti-nausea potion– I manage to eat something, more then half the time now it just... comes back up." With great gusto. And violence. The memory of when I'd thrown up so forcefully I felt like my ribs were going to snap like brittle twigs while I retched made me shudder.

"We'll sort it out. We'll sort it all out." Edward said, determination clear on his face. I sighed and tried to have his optimism. It was hard when all traces of afterglow had been wiped away by my fear for Alice and Jasper.

The remainder of the day was spent either sleeping or awake and listening to Edward talking on the phone to Carlisle. Rosalie and Emmett arrived back, pretty much exactly when Edward had said they would, and Rosalie had continued to be almost mystifyingly nice. Normally this would have made my day, but the combination of still not being able to eat, the uncertainty and discomfort of the pregnancy and whatever mad thing Alice had planned for her and Jasper all hanging over my head, it made any sort of positivity... difficult, to say the least.

After a restless night's sleep, the following day was set to be truly miserable, almost as if the weather was reflecting the mood of those of us in the house. Wind had the trees along the forest line creaking and groaning, rain splattered on and off against the roof and windows and the sky was a gloomy grey that seemed to reflect the general mood of the occupants of the mansion.

I was in a particularly piss-poor mood, mostly thanks to how tired I felt. The pregnancy had been steadily draining of me of my energy with each day that passed– something I'd noticed even before I'd actually realised I was pregnant and had originally blamed on the busy schedule– but today I felt like something had snuck in and sucked all the energy from my body while I slept. It felt like I'd stayed up all night cramming for an exam, run a hundred laps around Hogwarts, played a game of chicken with the Whomping Willow, done three hundred loads of laundry, and then raked all the leaves off the Quidditch Pitch– and all in the one day. That's how bone-deep exhausted I felt, and I wasn't even exaggerating.

When I really thought about it though, considering how taxing it was for a woman's body to support a growing baby and then adding in the variable of how the one in me was growing so Merlin-damned quickly, I was actually honestly surprised I could even get off the couch. Really, I was even more surprised it had taken so long for me to finally reach this point of weariness.

It didn't help that as well as feeling ridiculously tired, I'd also thrown up everything I'd attempted eating to the point that I'd just given up trying. I barely had the energy to get off the couch to go to the loo and pee– and how could I need to pee so much when I was barely drinking any water? 

Qiang had been all frowns as she apparated over every few hours to give me a check-up and measure my rapidly expanding stomach, muttering things like _'fatigue'_ and ' _malnourishment'_ and ' _dehydration'_ under her breath. As I alternated between scowling and snapping at everyone and then crying because I felt horribly guilty for doing so, she pointedly added _'mood swings'_ to her list.

"You're at least twenty pounds under what you should be," she told me, while forcing a bunch of prenatal potions down my throat. Needless to say they tasted awful. "We're going to have to feed you intravenously if you don't start putting on weight. And you need to be drinking more water– dehydration is dangerous. What colour is your urine?"

I paled, too focused on the first part of what she'd said to answer her question. "Intravenously? You mean– _needles_?" I asked weakly, trying not to think of the shiny instruments of torture.

"After everything you've gone through, you're telling me you're afraid of needles?" Asked Qiang, her beautiful pointed face somewhat incredulous. I shuddered.

"I can deal with blood and violence and all that, but urgh. Needles are evil."

"Unbelievable." Qiang just shook her head and sighed. "Your urine. What colour is it?"

I kind of gaped at her bluntness, my cheeks warming uncomfortably. "I feel like that's at least a third date sort of question," I joked weakly, before squirming under her sharp look. "Yellow?" I suggested, feeling like my face was burning. I tried not to think of who else was currently in the house, and how they could all hear every word that I was saying. "Like it's supposed to be, I guess."

"There are many different shades of yellow, and very few of them are the shade urine should be." Qiang corrected. "Ideally it should be straw-coloured or transparent-yellow. Would you say yours is lighter or darker then that?"

"I don't know," I cringed back into the couch, wanting to pull the blankets covering me up over my head. "I don't really look down when I pee– darker, I think? Probably more honey-coloured?"

Qiang's mouth pressed into a thin line, her eyes narrowing. "I'll give you a day to improve your hydration levels or we'll be inserting an IV," she said. "Vomiting increases dehydration so you should be drinking at least two point three litres– that's approximately ten cups." She clarified.

"I'll never be able to drink that much!" I protested, practically flinching at at the thought of trying to convince my stomach to keep that much down. Qiang looked entirely unsympathetic.

"Then you have an IV drip to look forward to in your future," she said loftily. I slumped in defeat.

I tried to watch an episode of some show on the flat-screen after she left following that awkward conversation, Edward at my side, but drifted off before the show even reached half-way through.

I woke up an indeterminable amount of time later to the sound of raised voices. They were coming from the direction of the doorway and it took me a moment to recognise the voices as belonging to Edward and Jacob. Well, Edward was speaking– Jacob seemed to be growling at him like some sort of deranged, overgrown puppy.

"I'm _trying_ to _sleep_ in here!" I shouted, annoyed at their inconsideration. There was silence for a moment and then a brief scuffle, the sound of a thud as if a very impatient teenager had just pushed a vampire into a wall, and then Jacob barged into the room. He was dressed only in a pair of shorts, and his hair was windswept like he'd been running.

"Jacob!" I greeted him happily enough, pleased to see him even if he had woken me up. He didn't look nearly so pleased.

"Bella," he scowled, "what the hell have you gotten yourself into this time?"

Edward gave a very threatening snarl from the doorway, and I wasn't surprised to see Rosalie and Emmett flanking him, both Rose and my husband looking like they were ready to lunge across the room and rip Jacob to pieces. Emmett just looked hugely entertained, winking at me when my eyes met his. I sighed and rolled my eyes, wondering why I– the person who was supposed to be resting and relaxing– had to be the one to referee their stupid disputes.

"Guys, I'm fine– I promise. You don't need to hover, just give Jake and I some space to straighten this out." I said, calmly but firmly.

"Bella–" Edward started to protest and I fixed him with a stern look, one I then turned on Rosalie, who was eyeing Jacob like he was something she'd just found smeared on the bottom of her Jimmy Choos, for good measure. Emmett was openly snickering now.

"Seriously, it's fine."

The reluctance was clear on both my apparent protectors, and Rosalie gave Jacob a look that I translated to something along the lines of ' _you better hope you never run into me in a dark alley or so help me_ ' before turning and gliding away from the doorway, Emmett following after her. Edward was more hesitant to leave but he did after giving me a last unhappy look.

Once the door closed, I turned back to Jacob, fighting a yawn. Honestly, for a century old beings they could be incredibly childish. "Sorry, what was the last thing you said?" I asked him, only vaguely remembering some sort of insult.

"I asked what mess you'd managed to get yourself into now," Jacob said, folding his arms across his chest. He was still scowling and I scowled back at him.

"That," I said, a bit offended, "is a very unfair assumption to make. Why would you think this is my fault, you jerk?"

Jacob gave me a thoroughly unimpressed look. "Are you saying it's not?" He asked and I wilted a bit in my indignation.

"Well it's not _all_ my fault," I defended myself. "Like, only fifty per cent."

"Oh, only fifty per cent?" He said darkly, before giving me a look. "Well? I'm dying of suspense here, Bells. Care to fill me in?" He prompted. I winced, already predicting his inevitably terrible reaction. Unwilling to lie though, I tugged the blankets concealing my stomach down to expose the very swollen state of my midriff.

"So... I'm pregnant." I said, somewhat unnecessarily. "Ready to be an uncle?"

Jacob's eyes bulged in an amusingly comic manner. His mouth actually dropped open and for several very long moments he appeared genuinely incapable of speaking.

"B-B-But how?" He finally managed to choke out, his words practically a squawk.

"You're asking me how I got pregnant?" I asked, unable to stop myself from teasing him a bit despite the gravity of the whole situation. He instantly scowled again.

"I know that you, you know–" he made an awkward sort of hand gesture which seemed suggest some sexual perversion I wasn't familiar with. "But he's a vampire!" He exclaimed, like I might have somehow forgotten that. "I didn't think they even had swimmers!"

"You've actually thought about vampire semen before?" I asked, genuinely curious. He instantly shuddered.

"Pack mind link– don't ask." He looked sickened enough that I nodded– for now, anyway.

"Well, in the interest of making a long story short, vampire males are capable of impregnating human females. It was a surprise to us all."

"I bet." Jacob said, darkly, before frowning down at me. "You look sick," he said bluntly.

"Yeah, well, our research has showed this generally doesn't seem to go very well for the mothers." I admitted.

"Fuck." Jacob muttered, his eyes widening. I could see the horror and panic on his face, see the way his hands had started trembling at his sides, and rushed to reassure him.

"Those stories have always been about muggle women, though, not witches– Qiang is freaking amazing at what she does, and magic itself is amazing. It can _regrow organs_ , Jake– delivering a half vampire baby can't be too difficult."

"And that's why you look like you're one bad day from your death bed? Because magic is so amazing and can fix anything?" Jacob snapped and I winced.

"I don't look that bad." I muttered. Jacob just scowled harder and I sighed, pulling my blanket back up as I was starting to shiver. "It really was an accident," I told him. "I'm pretty sure I'm not ready to be a mom. That doesn't mean I'm not going to try, of course, or that I'm not going to love my kid with all my heart, but... believe me, I really do get that it's kind of a messed up situation."

Jacob sighed too, eyeing my faint shivering for a moment before seeming to come to a decision. "Scootch up." He said, bending over slightly in order to gently curve an arm across my back to help me sit up enough so that he could sit down on the couch then let my head rest on his lap. "You scared, honey?" He asked quietly.

"Absolutely fucking terrified." I whispered back.

"Well you know I'll be here for you, right?" He said, firmly. "And so will all your vampires and your witchy friends and the pastor's family and your dad."

"Thanks Jake." I murmured, closing my eyes and relaxing in the warmth radiating from his body.

"You're really freezing." He complained playfully.

"Mm," I hummed without opening my eyes. "Not enough meat on my bones."

"You are way too skinny." He agreed, "I thought pregnant chicks were supposed to be fat?"

I growled, eyes snapping open and head twisting slightly in his lap so I could glare up at him furiously. Fat? _Fat_!? He could try growing another human being inside, see if he managed to keep that six pack of his!

Jacob looked impressed. "I didn't know human vocal cords could do that." He commented.

"Shut up Jacob!" I snapped and he laughed at me, before turning serious again.

"You never actually answered me– don't think I didn't notice."

"Well I'm not hiding anything," I said, exasperated. "I've got really bad morning sickness, which means my body is practically rejecting anything I try to eat. And do you have any idea just how much a pregnant woman's body has to give to a developing foetus? The fact my baby is growing so quickly isn't bloody helping either."

"Huh," Jacob said, looking a little surprised. I frowned.

"What?"

"Nothing," he shrugged, "just when you didn't answer straight away I guess I was kind of expecting you were embarrassed to admit you were, like, having to suck down the blood of virgins to feed the little parasite."

"Jacob!" I punched him in the arm with as much strength as I could muster. Which wasn't a lot. I scowled. "You are so lucky I can't use magic right now!" He grinned, though I could see the confusion on his face at my statement.

"I better make the most of it then."

"Jerk." I huffed, before a massive yawn had me momentarily seeing stars. The amusement was gone from Jacob's face when I blinked my vision back to clear again. "Oh stop worrying," I told him, exasperated. "Qiang told me it's normal to be so tired during pregnancy. Especially because my body is so used to relying on my magic, and now I can't access it properly."

"What's that about?" Jacob frowned.

"Witches and wizards who are Turned into vampires can't use magic," I explained, "turns out carrying a half vampire baby makes a witch's magic go crazy. I almost burned my eyebrows off trying to fry some eggs, and then I flooded the kitchen trying to fill a glass with water. And that was two days ago– now I can't even feel it properly. The baby is growing faster with every day that passes; Qiang thinks I could be at the forty week equivalent in as early as the third of November."

"Shit," Jacob breathed, "that's only about a week away, Bells!"

"Qiang and Carlisle are estimating there's a twenty-eight to thirty-one day gestational period." I confirmed.

"So you, like–" Jacob made a crude gesture with both hands, something I wasn't sure meant but made me wonder just how active Jacob's sex life were before I pushed that disturbing and horrifying train of thought far away to the depths of my mind, " _conceived_ right at the start of your honeymoon." Jacob finished, pulling a face as he said 'conceived' like it was as horrifying for him to contemplate as my own disturbing thoughts on his sex life. I didn't blame him; Jake was like my brother, thinking about him getting busy between the sheets was just wrong.

That didn't mean I couldn't make him suffer, of course.

"Well, it could have been our wedding night, or possibly the next morning... or midmorning, late-morning, lunchtime, after lunch, early afternoon, mid-afternoon–"

"Fucking Christ, Bella!" Jacob cried out, slamming both his hands over his ears and looking down at me in horror.

"We had a lot of sex." I said, with a grin and a wink. "Lots and lots and _lots_ of it. Vampires have the best refractory period. As in, they practically have none at all; they can just keep going and going and–"

"For the love of god, either stop talking or pass me your sick bucket!" Jacob interrupted, honestly looking a touch green. "Freaking hell, there are some things I do not need to ever know Bells! Like, ever!"

My laughter was interrupted by another massive yawn. Jacob looked enormously relieved.

"Right, you sound like you need a nap– why don't you call your vamp in and I'll just, you know, go try and find some brain bleach."

I smiled up at him. "Thanks Jake. Teasing aside, it really does mean a lot, that you're here for me." I told him.

"Yeah, yeah, you'll be less happy when I find someone and start giving you all the dirty details of our horizontal hula." He scoffed, but he was smiling too as he gently supported my head and neck while he stood up. I thought about pointing out I wasn't exactly that far gone– not yet, anyway, though I certainly didn't intend on mentioning _that_ part out loud– but it was sweet and I was touched. "I love you, Bells," Jacob said, quietly, as he stood over me.

"I know. I love you too, Jake." I told him. The door to the living room opened and Edward stepped in. Jacob's face tensed slightly as he looked over at my husband then he sighed.

"Sorry for being an ass before." He said to Edward. "I was out of line. I know you'd never hurt her. And yeah, I panicked, but that still isn't an excuse."

Edward looked surprised for a moment, before his face smoothed out and he gave Jake a small but genuine smile. "Thank you, Jacob." He said. "That... means a lot to me."

"Yeah, well, you better make sure my sister lives through this." Jacob said, expression turning fierce. "Whatever it takes– I mean it. _Whatever_ it takes."

Edward's face turned blatantly surprised again, eyes widening in shock, but he nodded. "She's going to live." He said, and there was absolutely no room for any argument in his voice. Jacob's answering smile was a grimly satisfied thing.

As he left, Edward exited the room briefly to let him out of the house before returning to sit by me, on the ground next to the couch. He wrinkled his nose slightly but didn't comment on the smell Jacob had left. "Do you think you're up to any more visitors today?" He asked.

"After a nap, sure," I agreed, muffling another yawn. My eyelids were starting to feel heavy. "Why? Who's coming over?"

"Hermione wants to talk to us." Edward said. Instantly, my breath caught in my throat and a thrill of panic had my heart speeding in my chest. "It's nothing bad," Edward hastened to reassure me, "she said it wasn't urgent. If there was trouble, she'd want to get into contact immediately."

I took several deep breaths, calming my racing pulse. "Okay. Yeah, that makes sense." I agreed. Our heads were almost the same level with me laying down across the couch and Edward sitting on the floor next to it, Edward just slightly taller, so it was easy for him to bend his neck slightly to press his lips against mine. I sighed happily against the kiss, trying not to think about whether or not I had brushed my teeth after vomiting last.

Almost as if he'd read my mind– or, more likely, having tasted traces of it in my mouth which was absolutely disgusting and I refused to even consider– Edward pulled back, a thoughtful look on his face as he said, "You know, I think Jacob might have been right about one thing."

"Well, someone can't be wrong all the time." I smiled. Edward's mouth quirked up into a tired but genuine smile.

"They can certainly try. But I think... I think in this case he's right. I know he was joking about you, how did he put it, 'sucking down virgins', but what if the reason you can't manage any human food is because the fe– the baby is Thirsty?"

"Huh." I said, surprised. "That... that does make sense."

And it did– the baby was half vampire. Why wouldn't it need blood?

"Sleep first," Edward suggested. "You're actually starting to slur your words, love. When you wake up we can try– we don't have anything to lose. I'm fairly certain Emmett has some of those 'blood pops' Luna bought him somewhere in the house, and Carlisle has several blood bags in his office."

"Blood bags in his office– that sounds so... vampire-y." I snickered, even as I let my heavy eyelids fall shut. Edward made a sound of amusement too, before he started humming and I drifted off to the sound of it.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In Breaking Dawn, the pregnancy was 28 days– Bella conceived on the 13th and had Renesmee on the 10th. It was 18 days after conception when she first realised she was pregnant. Although the dates are different, because the wedding was later in this story then in Breaking Dawn, I'm following the same sort of timeline, with Bella figuring it out at 18 days.
> 
> Hope you enjoyed the chapter!  
> ~Cheshire Carroll


	18. Chapter 18

**CHAPTER EIGHTEEN:**

 

I woke up from my nap about ten minutes before Hermione arrived at the Cullen's mansion via portkey in a swirl of sleek robes, chestnut curls and red lips, a beaded handbag hanging casually at her elbow. I was surprised by the make-up she was wearing, but my attention was quickly turned away from her, as she hadn't arrived alone.

The sight of Luna had a huge, beaming smile cross my face that even Mal– _Draco's_ presence did little to dampen.

Luna's robes swished around her as she crossed the room, over to where I was sitting propped up on the couch. The robes were... well the only word that really could be used, was 'shawly'. It appeared that at least twenty, possibly thirty, different shawls had been sewn together to create an interesting ensemble of clashing colors and patterns. Around her neck, she had a multitude of chains and beads while her arms were covered with at least a dozen different bangles each. The bangles dug into my back as she hugged me, but I honestly did not give a damn.

"I can't leave you alone even for a minute," she scolded me, and I just laughed and hugged her back as tight as my weak limbs were capable of.

"I'd never want you to," I told her, kissing her cheek. "Where have you been?"

I'd wondered where she'd been upon my return to Forks, but nobody had seemed to know anything other then she'd been sending back owls to say she was safe. I thought she might have dragged Draco off to Switzerland or something, to go try and photograph a crumple-horned snorckack or fligby flutterloo or three-legged gimblechock.

"We were in Britain," Luna said, though, and I pulled back slightly so I could look at her in surprise.

"Britain? But I thought..." I glanced over at Draco, who was looking down at his hands.

It felt too awkward to mention the fact that he'd been banned from Britain out loud, but I quickly realised that not saying it was proving just as awkward.

Hermione, thankfully, saved me from the awkward silence.

"Narcissa's cooperation on this whole vampire matter has earned her certain privileges." My fellow muggleborn explained. "She asked to be able to see Draco. It took a bit of finagling but I managed to make it happen."

"Which isn't so surprising, considering you're one of the people writing major parts of Wizarding Britain's new legislation." Luna said, giving Hermione a warm smile. Hermione's cheeks turned pink.

"It's not just me." She muttered, embarrassed. "Kingsley's helping too, and so is Arthur. I'm mostly just responsible for going through the Archives to find and sort all the old, out-dated laws that are still technically in effect."

"Gra– _Hermione_ ," Draco corrected himself before continuing on, "you're reworking an entire government from the ground up and anyone capable of logical thought knows it."

"Then it's a good thing most wizards don't have an ounce of logic in them." Hermione said dryly, before shaking her head. "Ah, old joke." She explained, a touch sheepishly. "There was a logic puzzle involved."

"You're doing the right thing." Draco said, his steel-grey eyes turning back to staring at his hands, like they were somehow incredibly fascinating. "The old system wasn't working– the way my f-father was able to manipulate it so easily, and that He was able to take control of it with so little resistance, proved that beyond any doubt."

"Oh," Hermione said, looking startled. I felt startled too. Nobody spoke until I cleared my throat, awkward with the silence.

"So what have you crazy kids been up to while I was away?" I asked.

"Oh, this and that." Hermione said lightly. "Like I mentioned, a lot of studying old laws as well as sales marketing with goblins, cultural relations with werewolves, the odd Wizengamot elder who needs to be taken down a notch; the usual stuff. Though at the moment I've mostly been focusing on this vampire situation. It's... well, I heard you had visitors come to warn you that you're being targeted, and there's... there's a situation."

"That sounds vaguely ominous." I said. She nodded grimly.

"You might want to call in any of the Cullens here right now." She said, though I didn't actually have to say anything as Edward, Rosalie and Emmett appeared in the entrance of the living room before she'd even finished her sentence.

"Luna," Rosalie greeted my best friend warmly, gliding across the living room, over to where Luna had sat down beside me on the couch, leaning down to gently press her lips against Luna's forehead

I blinked in surprise at the sight of the blonde vampire, as I'd never seen her dressed so casually before. Sections of her long golden hair had been pulled back on either side of her face and woven into precise braids, each fastened with barrettes that looked suspiciously like little wrenches. She was then wearing old jeans, hand-knitted aqua-coloured socks with a pattern of silver butterflies that were lazily flapping their gauzy wings– my guess was they were a gift from Luna, and one of Emmett's t-shirts. Well, at least I assumed it was Emmett's; Rosalie didn't seem the type to own a baggy t-shirt with a faded picture of a scantly clad woman holding on to a stripper pole with text proclaiming _'Supporting Single Moms'_ in curvy letters.

"Rosalie, Emmett, Edward," Hermione greeted the three vampires. "I love the barrettes." She added warmly to Rosalie who smiled dazzlingly at the curly-haired witch.

"Thank you. I love your lipstick, it suits your skin tone."

Hermione smiled back at her, all straight shoulders, red lips and strength. "Thank you– I was in a meeting earlier today, discussing the vampire situation." She said, as if that explained it.

"Why did you wear lipstick to it?" I asked, curious because I'd never seen her wearing lipstick before today– not even at my bachelorette party.

Hermione turned her smile towards me, her lips a playful, bright crimson curl. "The international task force assembled to hunt down all the remaining vampires wants blood," she said, the curve of her smile widening to show teeth. "And Narcissa told me I should give it to them."

I swore I could feel the hairs prickling on the back of my neck. "Oh wow," I said, a bit stunned. " _Wow_. Anyone who tries to disagree with you are so doomed." Hermione laughed, looking infinitely satisfied.

"Oh yes." She said. "They're all, as Ginny puts it, my 'bitches' now, which is how I got this." I watched as she summoned two items from the depths of her beaded handbag. One was a long potion phial filled with a silvery substance that wasn't quite a liquid, but not quite a gas either– a memory, I realised. The other item was one I hadn't seen before except as an illustration in a book; a shallow stone basin on which runes and strangle symbols were carved and a number of some sort of precious stone I couldn't identify were embedded. It was a pensieve; an almost priceless magical artefact.

"With the aid of all the members of the Auror strike team that dealt with the Volturi coven, I had a collection made of the memory of every vampire that was killed in the destruction of the coven. It's not a pretty sight, but from the timeline that we've created of the mystery vampire's actions, our assumption right now is that whoever is causing trouble is one who escaped that particular cull." Hermione said grimly. "We need someone familiar with the Volturi to identify who is missing."

"I can do it," Edward offered immediately. "I'm confident I know at least the faces of all of the guard from both my own visits and from Carlisle's memories of the time he lived here."

"Thank you," Hermione said, looking relieved. "Having some sort of progress right now would be a relief– a fair number of the task force is getting antsy. Even despite my current influence, keeping them from going after the vampires who took a Vow is getting harder; we've lost people to this fight and like I said before– those left behind want blood, especially after the recent disaster."

"Recent disaster?" Rosalie asked, a heavy frown on her lovely face. I bit my bottom lip, having a feeling I knew where this was going from Alice's phone call.

"Somehow, the last coven the team faced managed to get their hands on objects spelled with very strong protection charms," Hermione said, confirming my suspicions. "It was a slaughter. The strike team didn't figure it out fast enough, and every Auror we sent in died."

"Fuck," muttered Emmett as we all traded grim looks.

"When can I look at the memories?" Edward asked, determined.

"If you're alright with it, then right now." Hermione told him.

"I want to see them too," I said, lifting my chin up high when everyone barring Luna and Emmett seemed unsure. "I've been to Volterra too– I could spot something Edward misses."

Truthfully, I doubted that very much– I had a fairly good memory, but not compared to that of a vampire. But I couldn't just sit around, all helpless and useless. I desperately wanted to help with this whole bloody situation, any way I could, to not feel like a burden.

Seeming to read the steely resolve on my face, despite her doubts Hermione didn't try to argue with me. "Alright." She said instead. "The more eyes the better."

Edward looked like he was about to protest, but Rosalie harshly pinched his side and he shut his mouth, turning to glare lightly at her instead. She looked back, extremely unapologetic.

I turned my attention back to Hermione and watched, intrigued, as she poured the phial of memories into the pensieve, the liquid/gas swirling almost cloud-like in the shallow basin.

"So how does this work?" Edward asked, leaning forwards slightly to examine it.

"It's very simple, actually," Hermione told him. "Memories or excess thoughts are siphoned from the mind and poured into the basin of the pensieve so they can be viewed from an outsider's perspective, a non-participant third person point of view. For example, do you remember when Bella got sick after the Final Battle from Bellatrix Lestrange's curse?"

"Vividly." Edward said darkly, "You mentioned at the time using a pensieve to look over memories of the Battle, to figure out what curse Lestrange used." He added, in realisation.

"I did– when you can examine your memories at your own leisure, it's easier to study them. Our memories process so much more then what we manage to recall." Hermione explained, before giving a tired sort of half-smile and waving a hand of the pensieve. "See you ready?" she asked.

"How do we do this?" Edward asked, reaching to grasp my hand in his cold stone one. Hermione flicked her wand, levitating the pensieve and directing it over so it was hovering before me– I wouldn't even have to leave the couch to touch it. 

"It's simple." Hermione said, with a small smile. "All you have to do is submerge your head in the basin."

"Alright." Edward said, seeming to steel himself. His dark gold eyes flicked over to meet my own. "Ready?"

"Ready." I confirmed, taking a deep breath before leaning forwards as much as my ballooning stomach would let me, which proved to be just enough that I could dip my head inside the basin.

For a moment nothing happened, and then I was tilting forwards, pitched headfirst into a whirl of colour and shadow. I felt my feet hit solid ground, and stood, shaking, as the blurred shapes around me came into sudden focus.

It was... not pretty.

Fast-paced and ugly, the memories half blurred into each other as they changed from one to the next. Some memories lasted only a handful of seconds before I'd be sent tumbling into the next. Others took up to five or six minutes, the now-dead vampire featured in them putting up more of a fight.

Despite the fact five Aurors had apparently lost their lives, there was one thing that was almost painfully clear about the destruction of the coven– it wasn't a battle or a fight, it was a fucking slaughter.

An international team of Aurors had been put together to dismantle the Volturi and they had fucking done it.

I watched the systematic destruction of vampire after vampire wide-eyed and silent, barely aware of Edward's presence beside me as oily purple smoke drifted upwards, and white 'rubble' and half-intact dismembered limbs littered the cracked marble floors. I could see a single severed finger determinedly inching its way across the room. It was crawling like a worm, and I hoped that the special force had remembered to burn every part of the bodies of the vampires.

Coming out of the pensieve was almost a shock, the sensation not unlike that of being tipped backwards.

I gasped as I became aware of my return to the living room of the Cullen's mansion. My entire body was shaking, adrenaline coursing up and down my limbs.

Beside me, Edward appeared even more shaken up then I did. I could only imagine how confronting it must have been, to see the relative ease in which the witches and wizards had wiped out the most powerful vampire coven in the world. Still, he pulled himself together remarkably well.

"There were only six vampires missing, as far as I could tell." He told Hermione. "Felix, Demetri, Corin, Heidi, Alec and Athenodora. Out of those six, only two of them had the motivation to really organise this– Alec, because Bella killed Jane, and Athenodora, because her mate was killed in the attack."

"Athenodora?" I asked, startled. "You mean Caius's mate?"

"Yes," Edward confirmed, face settling into grim lines. "She's an Ancient too, older then Aro, Caius and Marcus all."

"If she's that old, then the possibility of her having old talismans with protective charms from before the Statute of Secrecy was created, and witches and wizards went into hiding from muggles, is very real." Hermione said, looking concerned. "And while some spells decay with age, others can grow stronger. It could also explain how she knows about the existence of the magical world, which whoever is responsible for handing out the protective talismans must be. And if the knowledge that your coven is responsible for bringing our attention to the Volturi, which resulted in an attack that left her mate dead, then that certainly explains why she's targeting you."

"Great." I said, bitterly. "That's just great. We're officially in the cross-hairs of the fucking Queen of Vampires because I've managed to piss off yet another vengeful vampire because I killed her mate, and this time I can't even use magic."

"Is there some sort of plan in place to deal with this mess?" Edward asked, looking equal parts frustrated and troubled.

"Oh, I am very much a firm believer in 'de inimico non loquaris sed cogites'," Hermione said with a sharp smile. It had teeth.

"Don't wish ill for your enemy," Edward translated it for those in the room who didn't speak Latin, "plan it."

"And maybe that's ruthless, but sometimes you have to be ruthless to win a war. And we won the war." Hermione said, her red lips making her teeth look very, very white as she smiled at us. "Yes, I have a plan."


	19. Chapter 19

**CHAPTER NINETEEN:**   
  
  


**_Mineral de Pozos, Mexico: Maria_ **

_Three vampires stood under a lavender sky that_ _grew_ _steadily_ _darker as the sun s_ _u_ _nk further and further below the distant horizon. Two of the vampires held hands, barely an inch or two between them, while the third_ _stood_ _a good few meters away._

_"And why," the third vampire asked, her voice rich and her eyes a dark burgundy, "would you want to join my coven?"_

_"Because, Maria," Jasper said,_ _his_ _hand tightening imperceptibly around the smaller one of his mate's, "I didn't want to take the Vow that the rest of_ _my old coven_ _promised the witches and wizard_ _s_ _they would_ _seeing as my_ _control_ _over my Thirst still_ _isn't good enough that I can guarantee I won't accidentally attack and kill a human. But when I refused to take it, the Cullens said I couldn't stay with them any longer and the witch who married my coven mate said she_ _wouldn't be able to_ _protect me from those hunting all vampires down."_

_"I_ _did take_ _the Vow," Alice said, holding her small, pointed chin high. "But I refused to let Jasper go alone."_

_"_ _But why_ _come to me?" Maria pressed, suspicion painted clear on_ _her_ _striking face._

_"Because I had a vision," Alice_ _told the warlord, her eyes fierce in their determination_ _. "I Saw you had some sort of protection_ _from witches and wizards_ _and we want that protection."_

_"And because you once told me that I'd always have a place in your coven." Jasper added._

_Maria looked terribly conflicted for a long moment. "I would like to welcome you back, Jasper." She said, finally. "I really would, but it isn't my choice anymore. The best I can do is to get you into contact with the one who is in charge._ _But_ _if they agree, then I would be glad to have you. Both of you."_

_"Then we would be grateful to seek an audience with the one in charge." Jasper said, and Maria finally smiled._

_"It_ _guarantee it_ _will be done."_

-

-

**Washington, Forks: Bella Cullen**

Edward didn't like Hermione's plan. I didn't much like the idea of playing bait either, but I knew Hermione wouldn't have suggested it if it wasn't the best option available to save the most lives.

Athenodora was after the Cullens, that much was very clear, and the plan was to use her vendetta to lure her out of the shadows and into the open. Information would be 'leaked' that my family was being transferred somewhere safe, a house protected by the Fidelius charm. Athenodora would know that she couldn't get to us if we were hidden behind magic, so she'd have to make her move and strike before we were secreted away– and when she did, the Auror hit-squad would be laying in wait.

The supposed date that we were being relocated would be in less then a fortnight, Hermione told us– by which time I would have already given birth, a genuinely terrifying thought.

Edward hadn't liked the thought of us all being in harm's way, nor had Rosalie, but Hermione had gently pointed out the fact we were already in danger– Athenodora was coming for us, and at least this way we'd have an idea of just when she would launch her attack. Both of them had reluctantly accepted it, though they still weren't happy about it. Hermione had assured them she wasn't either and she swore that every possible effort would go into keeping us safe.

It was after the meeting that I decided to ask Hermione something that had been niggling away at me.

Luna and Draco had already left the house; Draco still wasn't entirely comfortable around Hermione and Hermione wasn't entirely comfortable around him. There was too much history between them and it would be a long time before they could be at ease with the other's presence. The vampires had left the livingroom too, which gave us a semblance of privacy but I was under no illusion that they wouldn't be able to hear everything we said– part of the trials and tribulations of living with vampires.

"Alice hasn't been able to get proper visions of me since I got pregnant," I told Hermione, "she can't See Luna or the shifters either, but she used to be about to See my future without any issues and she Sees Katie and Qiang just fine too. Do you have any idea what's stopping her?"

"I was thinking about how Alice's Gift works after your bachelorette party, actually," Hermione said, her expression turning thoughtful as she sat down on the arm of the couch I was laying across. "I came up with two theories at the time– one was that before she was Turned, Alice was a witch and she can therefore see humans, witches, wizards and vampires because she has the experience of being each one of them at some point. Because she has no experience being a shifter or, in the case of your child, a half-vampire, she can't See their futures. My other theory was she could See the futures of those she was in proximity to or formed emotional bonds with. It would again explain why Alice can See humans, witches, wizards and vampires but not shifters or your child."

"Except that second theory doesn't explain why she can't see Luna," I pointed out, even as my mind reeled at the possibility of Alice being a witch.

"I know," Hermione agreed, "which was why I had one of my people do some investigating. There are two main magical schools in America– Salem and Ilvermorny. Without a surname or even a confirmed first name, searching for a student who attended either school at some point between 1895 and 1920 would have taken forever. Alice being a Seer, however, made the search much easier. Over that specific time period of two and a half decades there were only seven students who were authentic Seers. One of those students was Mary-Alice Brandon, a muggleborn witch who first attended Salem in 1913." 

"Mary-Alice Brandon," I repeated the name– I liked the sound of it; I thought it suited Alice just fine. "You really think Mary-Alice is our Alice?"

"I think the photos of Mary-Alice look far too similar to Alice to dismiss the possibility," Hermione confirmed. "And Mary-Alice vanished in 1920 from a mental institution she was locked up in, never to be seen again."

"Wow," I breathed, my eyes wide. "Alice is going to be ecstatic!"

"Mary-Alice has a great-niece who's a witch," Hermione added with a smile. "Cynthia Brandon, Mary-Alice's sister, had a daughter and that daughter had several children of her own, one of which was born with magic. Mary-Anne Carter is in her sixth year at Salem Witch's Institute."

"That's amazing," I said, "do you think she'll want to meet Alice?"

"I don't know," Hermione admitted, "I couldn't really excuse any more time investigating Mary-Alice Brandon when the vampire situation has reached such a precarious point."

"Well what you have found is amazing," I told her firmly. Quiet knocking on the arched double-doorway of the living room heralded Edward's return and my husband smiled at Hermione as he crossed over to sit beside me, bending slightly to brush his chilly lips against my cheek.

"I'm sorry to interrupt," he said but Hermione shook her head as she stood up.

"No, it's fine," she smiled at him, "I actually have to go. I'll be in touch very soon though– there's a lot of details that are going to have to be ironed out to make sure nobody gets hurt."

We exchanged our goodbyes and I was genuinely upset to watch her leave. When she was gone though, Edward turned to me and gently took my hand, the one not resting on my swollen stomach, in his own. "I think it's time to try what we talked about earlier before your short sleep," he said. It took me a moment to figure out what he was referring to.

"You're talking about the whole sucking down the blood of virgins deal right?" I asked.

"I am." Edward said grimly. "I know it will be highly unpleasant for you–" I couldn't help interrupting him with a weak, humourless laugh.

"Unpleasant? Oh jeez, I wonder what that's like?" I asked sarcastically. Edward's expression was solemn.

"Your condition– both of your conditions– have been deteriorating rapidly, even as the foetus's growth rapidly increases." He said quietly, "We don't have time to waste, to come up with more palatable ways to do this. The fastest way to test the theory–"

"I've got to drink it," I interrupted, "is that all?" Did he really think this would horrify me, I wondered, confused as to why.

"It has to be human, too," Edward added. "If the foetus is craving blood, it's not craving animal blood and the test will be more effective if we don't cut corners."

The soft, swishing sound of the double-doors notified me of Rosalie's arrival as I turned automatically to the sound. She had a gentle expression on her face, one I still wasn't quite used to seeing directed at me.

"We already have blood on hand," she told me.

"The stuff in Carlisle's office, right?" I recalled out loud from earlier.

"It was for you, as a just in case." Rosalie confirmed. "I have a really good feeling about this, Bella. I think you and the baby will be so much better."

"Well," I said, running a hand across my stomach, "I'm starving, so I'll bet Baby is too. Let's do this shit."

Rosalie was gone in a flash, but Edward stayed, holding my hand, his face grim again. Our eyes met, and I could see the pleading, the hope he was afraid to feel, and I squeezed his hand the best I could, an admittedly pathetic effort.

Rosalie darted downstairs after a second, flying through the room like a sharp breeze, and into the kitchen. "Not clear, Rosalie." Edward murmured, rolling his eyes. I looked up at him, confused, but he just shook his head, and I decided to let it go.

It was only a minute or two before Rosalie was suddenly back, a white plastic cup in her hand, the kind with a lid and a bendy straw.

Right– not clear. Looking at the cup, I had absolutely no clue what was inside. Probably for the better.

"Bella, we could try another method," Edward started to say as Rosalie went to hand me the cup, and I had to bite back a groan.

"For Merlin's sake, please stop tip-toing around this; it's just blood! Can everyone please stop making such a big deal out of this? I mean, how awful can it be?" With that, I reached out to take the cup from him. I attempted then to prop myself up on one elbow, but my body felt too heavy to move. Little wonder, for it had been nearly four days since I'd last eaten properly, and with the baby's unbelievable growth rate... Well, the fact I was getting weaker by the hour, my deterioration speeding up as the baby grew faster, was no surprise.

Rosalie put her arm around my shoulders, supporting my head too, and I smiled at her, weakly. "Thanks." I whispered. Unable to help myself, I sniffed at the end of the straw then flinched in surprise, my face twisting slightly.

"Bella, sweetheart, we can find an easier way," Edward said instantly, stepping forwards as if to take the cup, but I shook my head.

"You can plug your nose," Rosalie suggested.

"No, that's not it," I told them, before toying with idea of mentioning the next bit, the true reason for my surprise. "It's just... it smells good." Because it did; it smelled absolutely mouth-watering, in fact, and almost without my say so, my hand was moving the cup to my lips and my mouth was latching around the straw.

"That's a good thing," Rosalie was saying eagerly, "that means we're on the right track. Give it a try." But I hardly heard her, because I was sucking on the straw as hard as I could and my mouth was full of the most amazing flavour I'd ever tasted in my entire life. I couldn't help my soft moan of delight but Edward mistook the sound for either horror or disgust and immediately stepped forwards, reaching for the cup.

"Bella, love–" he started to say, but I shook my head.

"I'm okay, Edward." I told him, firmly, "It just... it tastes good, too. Like, really, really good." I couldn't quite read the expression on his face in reaction to that, but looking over at Rosalie revealed that her face was shining.

"That's wonderful," the stunning woman beamed at me, "it's such a good sign!" Edward pressed his hand to my cheek and I put the straw to my lips again, drinking eagerly from the cup and deeply enjoying the taste of its contents in my mouth and the warmth as it slid down my throat and tingled through my body.

"How's your stomach?" Edward asked gently, his cold fingers stroking through my hair. "Do you feel sick?" I shook my head, lifting my mouth from the straw for a second.

"No, I don't feel sick. I feel great! That's a first, eh?" I couldn't help the slight laugh that escaped me. Already I felt different; I felt stronger, like with each mouthful energy was creeping back through my body, reanimating my weak, almost lifeless limbs. Inside my womb, I could feel Baby stirring, moving, and I shivered in delight.

When I finished the cup of blood, I couldn't help my satisfied sigh. "I did it." I said, delighted. Edward pressed his icy lips to my forehead, taking both my hands in his as Rosalie plucked away the empty cup for me. We all exchanged hopeful glances and I could feel the joy bubbling up inside me. That one little cup of blood had already made such a difference already– the all-consuming heaviness and unshakeable tiredness and exhaustion was still there, but I could feel my strength returning; I didn't need Edward's support as much now to sit up and my breathing was easier.

"Would you like some more?" Rosalie asked eagerly.

"You don't have to drink more right away," Edward was quick to reassure me, shooting Rosalie a quick glare as my mouth twisted down slightly, but I shook my head.

"Yeah, I know. But... I want to." I admitted.

"You don't need to be embarrassed about that, Bella." Rosalie said, her voice as soft and gentle as the expression on her face. "Your body has cravings. We all understand that." When I nodded the beautiful blonde smiled and then left for kitchen, promising to be right back. Sure enough, only a minute or two had passed before she returned with a fresh cup of blood for me to eagerly chug down.

"How do you feel?" Edward asked once I'd finished.

"Not sick." I said with a wide, beaming smile. "I do feel sort of hungry... only I'm not sure if I'm hungry or Thirsty?"

"Oh Bella, just look at you!" Rosalie breathed, her eyes shining and her smile heartbreakingly lovely. "This is clearly what your body wants– you should drink more."

"She's still human, Rose," Edward argued, shaking his head, "she needs food too. Let's give her a little while to see how this affects her, and then maybe we can try some food again. Does anything sound particularly good to you, Bella?" he asked and I couldn't help my smile as I twisted slightly to face him.

"Eggs." I told him and for the first time in what felt like forever, Edward actually smiled back at me.

And his smile was breathtakingly, perfectly real.

But all good things come to an end, and in this case our next disaster came sooner rather then later.

After yet another snooze, when I next came to the smell of fried eggs greeted my nostrils and my stomach growled like a mountain troll. As I slowly pushed myself up into a sitting position, though, I realised there was something drastically different about the room I was in– I was in the living room still, but all around me the furniture had been dragged out of the way and where there had once been a glass wall was now what looked like metal. I blinked a few times, unsure of what I was seeing. "Edward?" I croaked, and in a second he was beside me, looking as exhausted as I felt.

"Yes, my love?" he asked quietly and I pointed to the thick sheet of metal that had replaced the glass.

"What the hell happened to the wall?" I asked. Edward blinked slowly, turning his head slightly so he didn't have to look me in the eye. My heart immediately stuttered in my chest. "Edward!" I said harshly as panic flared through me, "what the fuck is going on?"

"The Pack decided it was their duty to eradicate... it." He said, the words dragging out of him like it was physically painful. I let out a choked sound, my hands fluttering to rest on my stomach as if I could somehow protect my baby. In that moment, I was so horrified that I didn't even object to Edward using the term 'it'.

"Is everyone safe?" I demanded, "Is J-Jacob...?"

"Jacob's fine," Edward promised, lifting his head up so his gaze met mine again. "In fact, he was the one who warned us. He and Seth broke off from the Pack to come warn you and your vamps. I assume Leah will follow too, when she learns what happened." I swallowed back the bile threatening to rise in my throat.

"Was there a fight?" I whispered, before cringing back, afraid of the answer. To my relief, Edward shook his head.

"Luna and Draco set up wards around the mansion so the wolves couldn't get through." He explained. "Jacob doesn't trust the magic entirely, though– he thinks it's too easy so he's decided to hang around and help guard the house. I'm fairly sure he's just doing it for the free food and board, though."

"Jake's actually volunteering to spend more time here?" I asked, shocked. Edward nodded.

"I'm was as surprised as you are," he said, with a light chuckle. "Would you like me to go get him?" I immediately nodded and Edward kissed me gently before standing up and disappearing from the room, returning about half a minute later with a very familiar face in tow.

"Jacob Ephraim Black," I said, clicking my tongue and shaking my head in mock-disapproval. "And there you were saying I was the one always getting myself into messes. What the hell actually happened?"

"When I phased, the Pack saw my memories of your spawn," Jacob said as he flopped down on the couch beside me, lifting my feet to make room then settling them on my lap. "Sam decided to kill it and I told him not to be a goddamn fucking idiot."

"Holy shiitake mushrooms." I stared at Jacob, mouth open slightly. "And what did he say?"

"Oh, he kicked me out of the Pack." Jacob said. "And the reservation."

"Well that's just... fuck." I let the expletive escape. Jacob snorted, eyes flicking down to my stomach.

"In this situation, I'd say that's precisely what happened."

"Oh go hump a chair, you dog." I rolled my eyes at him, before sighing. "God, but who even needs sex?" I muttered. "Life seems determined to fuck everyone over at every opportunity already."

"Consolation prize?" Jacob suggested. "You know– give us something worth living for?"

"Huh. That is... that is actually profoundly meaningful coming from you, Jacob. You've made me all uncomfortable and itchy. Don't do it again." I told him.

"Oh piss off." Scoffed Jacob and I grinned at him before my smile wavered.

"You're okay, right?" I asked, unable to help the meekness in my voice. "I– I never wanted for you to have to choose between me and the Pack."

"Bella," Jacob said, rolling his eyes. "I don't care about that– I'd pick you every time and never have a single regret. The only thing that pisses me off is how fucking helpless I felt when Sam was Alpha-ordering me to do shit." He shook his head, a scowl on his face. "And now the son of a bitch can order Quil and Embry to never talk to me again!"

"Didn't you say that you're the rightful Alpha, though?" I reminded him. "You told me you didn't want to claim that title and the responsibilities that go with it before, but if you don't want to be made helpless like that, maybe it's something you have to do."

"Huh." Jacob said, a look of stunned realisation on his face. "I... did not think of that." I rolled my eyes fondly at him, digging my toes into his stomach.

"That's what you've got me for– the higher level thinking."

"You're so mean to me," Jacob complained playfully, "I'm a hero, you realise– I risked life and limb tom come warn you and your vampires about Sam. What if I was seriously injured? Or what if I'd died and you never saw me again?"

"Well," I said thoughtfully, "there'd be more air to breathe."     

"See?" Jacob huffed. "Awful." I just laughed and after rolling his eyes, Jacob joined in.

And in that moment, knowing Jacob was right in front of me and would be staying under my roof, I couldn't help but feel whole and like nothing could get me down.


	20. Chapter 20

**CHAPTER TWENTY:**

 

Jacob left a little after our conversation with a somewhat darkly eager look in his eyes, taking Seth with him as he went. Without his warmth I soon started shivering, my body not quite managing to regulate its temperature right, and Edward wrapped me up in several thick blankets before cradling me on his lap. It was a bonus of him being a vampire, I decided, that he was able to support my rather large self– my ever-increasing girth would probably squash an ordinary guy at this point.

"Jacob has really surprised me." Edward admitted as he idly stroked my hair.

"Mmm, he's growing up," I agreed, leaning into his touch.

"His apology, after he first found out you were pregnant and had some... less then flattering thoughts, most of which he proceeded to voice out loud and at great volume, was entirely sincere." Edward said, sounding quietly marvelling of the fact. "And he disbanded from his packmates, his brothers and sister, knowing he may have to fight them in order to keep you, the fet– _baby,_ Emmett, Rose and I safe."

"He specifically thought about you, Rosalie and Emmett?" I asked, surprised.

"He told Sam that they didn't hurt innocents, because otherwise they'd be just as bad as the vampires they kill." He explained and my eyes widened.

"Wow." I said softly. "He really _has_ grown up."

Baby chose then to give my stomach a sharp jab. I winced; poor thing didn't know their own strength and my poor stomach was suffering for it. Edward's face tightened slightly in reaction to my pain but I was proud when he didn't otherwise react. "You've grown too." I murmured and he laughed quietly.

"I've been alive for a century, so I certainly hope so," he said and I turned my head so I was resting my cheek against the curve of his neck and shoulder, pressing my lips against the cool, marble skin there.

"You know what I mean," I said, and I felt more then saw his answering smile.

"Well," he said gently, "I _am_ about to become a father. I've found that requires a degree of personal growth that must be undertaken in a short amount of time."

"I'm sure Carlisle and Esme will be happy to pass on advice too," I told him. "Whenever they get back, that is."

Edward's face creased slightly. "After Jacob arrived last night I spoke to them and told them to wait." He said quietly. "While I'm fully confident that they would all be able to handle themselves against the Pack, unnecessary bloodshed is something we all want to avoid."

"Except Sam," I said with a scowl, my hands raising automatically to cradle my stomach protectively. Baby, as if reacting to my touch, nudged against where my palm was pressed to my abdomen, much gentler this time. "Arsehole." I added.

"Except Sam," agreed Edward, face twisted unhappily. "After Jacob returns, though, hopefully the situation will have been sorted. I've missed them and... I know Qiang will be the one delivering the baby through cesarean, but I would appreciate Carlisle's presence and Esme would be heartbroken to miss the birth of her grandchild."

"Of course you want them here. They're your mom and dad." I said. "And I know Charlie is going to insist on being here– especially because Renée, you know, well she... won't."

Something twisted inside me at the thought of my mother's absence. I hadn't spoken to Renée since the wedding, and before that not for over a year. But she was my _mom_ and I was about to have a _baby_ , to become a momma too. Knowing she wouldn't be there for me... it hurt. It really, really did. And I already knew she'd want nothing to do with her part-vampire grandchild.

"You know Esme thinks of you as her own daughter," Edward said gently. "And nothing will keep her from being there to hold your hand during the cesarean."

"Really?" I asked, my voice embarrassingly thick and choked up as tears welled up in my eyes.

"Oh Bella," Edward kissed my hair, "she will be so furious with herself that she hasn't made that clear enough to you that you have to ask. You should have heard the expletives she let out over the phone when she learned their return to us had to be delayed!"

"Esme really swore?" I asked, delighted, as I wiped away the tears that had trickled down my cheeks. Edward grinned.

"If I'd said half the words she had she'd have insisted on washing my mouth out with soap." He confirmed and I laughed.

As was probably his intention, the hurt about Renée had dwindled in my chest, replaced instead by a swell of warmth and I drifted off in his lap in the embrace of it.

-

Birds were singing. The sun was shining. I was slowly and lazily waking up from my nap with my head rested on a lap that was too warm and soft to belong to the vampire I'd fallen asleep on. There were warm fingers running through my hair, a soothing, repetitive motion that threatened to lull me back to my doze. My stomach let out a loud gurgle, demanding food, but I was still half asleep and far too comfortable to want to move, instead turning my face slightly to press into the warm stomach of my pillow.

The hand stroking my head paused and I resisted the urge to frown at the ceased stroking. My stomach let out another grumble and Jacob spoke up. "Bella, as cute and sort of hilarious as this is, you should probably get something to eat."

"Shut up Jake. Pillows should be seen and felt, not heard," I grumbled and I could hear his low laughter, which I absently noted sounded weirdly distant.

"Real funny, Bells, but that's not me." He said and that was definitely enough to have my eyes flying open.

"What the–? Seth?" I asked, confused, as I identified my pillow. Seth, the gangly fourteen-year-old wolf-shifter who'd helped fight Victoria and Riley, smiled shyly down at me.

"Hi Bella," he said, his cheeks reddening slightly, "you were shivering earlier, and with our higher body temperature we make good hot water bottles."

"Oh. Thanks." I said, giving him a quick, warm smile of gratitude at his thoughtfulness before turning to glare over at the horribly amused-looking Jacob who was sitting on the double couch next to Edward, only about two feet of space left between them. "You're such a jerk," I informed him and Edward laughed quietly as Jacob rolled his eyes at me.

"And you're a cuddle whore," he said, which effectively killed Edward's laughter and had my husband frowning reproachfully at him. "Plus you should address me with more respect," he added, a teasing grin forming on his face, "'cause you're officially looking at the newest– and clearly best– alpha of the Quiluete Pack."

"Which apparently means you need me around to deflate that head of yours more then ever." I retorted.

Quil's familiar laughter surprised me a little and I used my newfound strength from since I'd started drinking blood– which I was going to have to tell Jacob about and _crap,_ that was _not_ going to be a fun conversation... though Jake's reaction when he learned he was the reason Edward had come up with the idea in the first place might be funny to watch– to push myself up into a sitting position, letting my legs drop over the front so the soles of my sock-clad feet were brushing against the gleaming, polished cherry-wood floorboards.

In my new position, I now had a view of the entire room– and I was genuinely shocked to see there were six wolf-shifters altogether crowded inside it, all currently in human form. There was Jacob, of course, and Seth who was acting as my pillow, but there was also Quil, Embry, Seth's sister Leah and, of all people, Paul freaking Lahote.

"Um, hi?" I said, a touch confused, and then because I was curious and would definitely blame the pregnancy for my total lack of tact I blurted out, "So, are you all banished from the reservation too?"

"Fuck that," snorted Paul, lip curling at the thought. "I'm just here to make sure this little shit–" he gestured in Jacob's direction, "–stays alive or his sister will have my fucking balls."

"Fuck off, Paul," Jacob retorted, pulling a face presumably at the reminder of Paul imprinting on his sister, before turning back to me. "Technically Sam never took back the order banning me, but I'm strong enough now to go screw that and there's no way he's gonna try and enforce it now. Sam might be an idiot but he's not that stupid–"

"Debatable," muttered Leah sourly.

"–and he wants to fight his brothers and sister about as much as we do. Which is not at all." Jacob paused for a moment. "Actually I wouldn't mind kicking his stupid ass around a bit, but nothing serious." He amended.

Leah's expression clearly said that for her that was just as debatable as Sam's level of idiocy but she didn't say anything.

"So, how's it feel being Top Dog, then?" I teased, aiming to lighten the atmosphere a bit. Jacob snorted.

"This isn't prison, Bells," he said, before grinning fiercely, "but hell yeah, it feels pretty damn good!"

"And Sam is not taking it well," snorted Quil, though behind the humour there was concern in his eyes. "And yeah, he won't confront us directly, you especially Jake, but you should probably watch your back."

"And how isn't that like prison?" I teased. My stomach then let out another loud gurgle that would have been audible to everyone in the room even if they didn't have super hearing. In response to the loud sound, Baby gave a forceful kick that had me wincing at the pressure against the sensitive, bruised skin of my stomach.

"Ready for lunch then, love?" Edward asked and I nodded gratefully. "Hungry or thirsty?" He questioned, keeping his tone light and casual as he smoothly inquired about my Thirst with nothing in his voice to hint that he was asking about anything out of the ordinary.

"Pretty sure both," I admitted and he nodded, rising up in a swift, graceful movement that had half the shifters in the room twitching in response.

"Would you care to join us for a meal?" Edward offered politely to them. "Your company would be quite welcome."

"At least to our eyes," Rosalie added, her voice saccharine-sweet as she swept into the room with her long golden hair rippling out behind her like a cloak. Emmett was a half step behind her, his hand wrapped around her hip like usual with his darker then usual eyes carefully tracking the Quiluetes in the room, his focus mainly flicking between Jake and Paul.

"Rose," Edward warned, the exasperation obvious enough in his voice that I got the feeling this was not the first conversation they'd had about such matters. Rosalie scoffed, flicking her hair regally.

"Our home stinks of wet dog and I'm _Thirsty_ ," she snapped, which had the shifters all stirring uneasily– well, except for Seth who in all the time I'd known him had always been a bit of an oddball for a shifter in that he'd never been that bothered by the nature of the Cullens.

"And Jacob has told us it's safe to go out and feed again." Edward said patiently. Rosalie scoffed again, flashing her glistening white teeth at him.

"Like any of those puppies were ever a threat to _us_ ," she said dismissively, which immediately had Paul and Quil growling in response to the insult against them.

"Oi! Chill guys!" Snapped Jacob.

"Rosalie!" Edward growled at the same time, a threatening rumble in his velvet voice that did odd things to me– I licked my lips and started planning how to get him to growl like that in the bedroom... or wherever it was we had sex next. Rosalie glared at Edward and Emmett placed a hand on her elbow.

"C'mon, Rose," he said soothingly, "Carlisle, Esme and the Denalis will be arriving soon and we can get the hell out of here for a bit and go hunt."

"I'm not sure I want to be leaving Bella alone with a bunch of juvenile shifters." Rosalie replied snippily.

"Babe," Emmett rolled his eyes.

"I'm sure I'll be fine," I told Rosalie long-sufferingly as she helped me to my feet, careful to avoid touching Seth as she did so, Leah's dark eyes tracking her carefully. The blankets fell from around me as I stood, pooling down onto the couch cushions and revealing my swollen torso to the room. I blushed a bit and pulled down my sweater where it had ridden up and exposed the bruised skin underneath, the dark splotches like splashes of ink on my pale skin, carefully avoiding meeting any of the shifters' eyes.

"You're looking much better today," Jacob said, sounding surprised.

"You mean I'm looking fatter." I replied as I looked down to glumly confirm my suspicion that I couldn't actually see my feet.

"Actually, I was referring to the fact you look less like death warmed over, or a skeleton dipped in wax, but yeah; fatter works." He agreed, looking genuinely heartened by the fact. Still–

" _Thanks_ , Jake. That's exactly what a girl wants to hear." I said sourly as I started making my slow waddle to the kitchen, holding onto Rosalie for support.

"Well you are pregnant," Jacob said and I rolled my eyes back in his direction.

"Yes, I'm quite aware of that; it's rather hard to forget, what with the excessive vomiting, excessive sleeping and excessive peeing."

"Shoulda thought about all that before you got yourself knocked up," Jacob grinned.

"Because this was so planned," I retorted and Leah made a sharp sound, interrupting the playful bantering between Jake and I.

"We get it," she snapped, a dark scowl on her lovely face, "blah, blah, blah, you're pregnant, blah, blah, blah. Can you both just _shut up_ already?"

"Leah!" Jacob growled at her, face angry, but I felt guilt rather then annoyance twist my mouth into an unhappy curve.

I didn't blame Leah for being upset– while Jake and I were chatting and trading our usual back-and-forth like nothing was wrong, she'd just been displaced from her home and her Pack and was currently stuck in 'enemy territory'.

"I'm sorry for all this," I told her quietly and she snorted dismissively.

"Why are you sorry?" She scowled. "Sam's the fucking dickhead who fucked up. You've done more for the Quiluete Pack mission to protect the rez from vampires then any shifter in history– you're responsible for every vampire in existence being hunted down and either de-fanged or destroyed. And that idiot decided to kill you. What the fuck did he expect would happen? That we'd just roll over and agree? This is a goddamn shitty situation but you're not the one who should be apologising."

"Then what the hell was with you getting all bitchy with us?" Jacob demanded, still scowling.

Leah's face immediately darkened, her eyes going stormy. By her sides, her hands clenched into fists that shook minutely– enough so that Rosalie took notice and fixed her eyes sharply in the lone she-wolf in the room.

"I got all 'bitchy', Black, because your bestie here is pregnant and she's complaining about it," Leah snarled, "while thanks to bullshit genetic flukes of nature, _some_ of us won't get that chance!"

My eyes widened as I stared at the clenched-jawed Leah. New understanding trickled through me and by my side I could feel the way Rosalie had relaxed minutely. Glancing over at the vampire helping me stay upright, I could see empathy had now softened her hard, dark-irised gaze.

"I've lived with that same knowledge for nearly eighty years," she spoke up quietly. Leah twitched slightly, glancing across at Rosalie startled, clearly not having been expecting to be addressed by the standoffish vampire. "And I'm not saying that to belittle or demean how you feel, because it hurts just as much today as it did in 1933 when I first learned I'd never be a mother. I'm telling you because I want you to know I understand and I wish I could say it gets easier, but it doesn't."

I was alarmed to see actual tears in Leah's eyes as she shook with a mixture of rage and grief. This, it seemed, had been a long time coming. Appearing to focus her attention on the only female in the room who wasn't a vampire, Leah closed the distance between us in several swift steps, seized my sleeve and then, evidently deciding that wasn't enough contact, wrapped her arms around me, careful at the same time not to be in contact with my swollen midriff.

Leah hugged the way I'd seen her do everything else; fiercely, passionately, and with an edge of barely restrained rage. Her arms were like scorching hot steel bands as she shook against me with the effort of holding her shape together. I knew she was crying because I could feel the damp spot on my shoulder where her bowed head was pressed but she took a mouthful of my shirt, biting down on it as a makeshift gag to stifle any sobs.

My heart broke a bit at the sight of the young woman who was so terrified of being vulnerable. I was as immobile as if someone had cast Petrificus on me, with my arms pinned to my sides by the hug that was more of a restraint. Leah appeared scared out of her mind at not being in control, at maybe being weak, even for a moment, and allowing herself to accept comfort. All I could do was lean into the hold and let her know silently that I was there for her the way I suspected very little people were.

Edward was a tense statue, dark eyes slightly panicked and fixed on Leah. I gave him a stern look, silently ordering him to not interfere, and he nodded slightly but the stressed look didn't disappear.

Jacob was also tense, his hands trembling minutely as he watched for the first sign that Leah was about to lose control and phase, clearly ready to tackle her away from me at a moments notice if need be.

 _Men_.

 _Honestly_.

Quil, Embry, Emmett and even Paul all looked varying degrees of concerned too, but Rosalie was thankfully my pillar of reason amongst all the testosterone in the room. There was a look of sympathy and understanding on her beautiful face, and she looked like she wanted to touch Leah, to hug her maybe or even just squeeze her shoulder, but had thought the better of it.

The 'hug' ended as briskly as it had begun. Leah released her iron grip and took several quick steps back, not meeting my eyes. "I need some air." She said stiffly, before exiting the room in a flash of dark hair and copper skin. I could hear her change to four paws before she'd even reached the front door and Seth hurried after his sister, to open the door for her I was guessing.

"I really hope being away from Sam gives her the closure she needs." Jacob said quietly as he watched after them. Rosalie made a harsh, dismissive sound.

"For some things there is no closure." She said icily and I leaned into her, abruptly exhausted. I wasn't sure whether it was more from the extended period of standing or from the brief but intense emotional turmoil the room had just experienced. Rosalie's arms around me were strong and steady in their support, though, and helped lift the weight off my feet.

"Come on, Bella," she said gently, tone having defrosted entirely from when she'd just addressed Jacob, "let's get you sitting down."

"Yeah," I said quietly, moving my hands to my stomach as she led me to the dining room. Baby tentatively nudged against my palms and I managed a smile despite how I felt more like crying.


	21. Chapter 21

**CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE:**

 

**_Athens, Greece: Athenodora:_ **

_Returning to Herpo's castle to ask another favor of her brother was not what Athenodora had ever hoped to do. Unfortunately, she'd been left with little choice– though Herpo's response certainly made her wonder if it was possible that she'd overlooked just about_ anything _else._

_"Just so I understand, sister," her brother drawled, with that disgusting, mocking look on his face that made her want to just claw it off or pulverize the bone of his skull, "you want a way to guarantee the loyalty of your army– or at least ensure their obedience– and you wish to make them undetectable, to both sorcerers and other vampires."_

_"I do," she said shortly, not willing to pander to him by playing along with his little games. "Can you do it or not, brother?"_

_"Oh I can do it," Herpo confirmed, "but it will cost you."_

_"You have Corin now," Athenodora pointed out, "with her and your wealth, you live in comfort and contentment– what else could you possibly desire?"_

_"Power, influence, a challenge, an item or event that serves to interest me... take your pick, Athena."_

_"Do not call me that!" She snarled before she could stop herself. Herpo just grinned at her; sickeningly, mockingly, and oh she_ hated _him. "That tells me nothing about the price I must pay for your aid," she said harshly, "what is it you desire, Herpo?"_

_"You know," he mused, "this is the most entertainment I have had in centuries. And that little vampire girl, Corin, is certainly everything you promised– her Gift is quite extraordinary, and once I used a touch of magic to replace her old master, Aro, with my image in her mind; well, she was more then eager to serve me."_

_Athenodora resisted the urge to shift nervously– the thought of just what a sorcerer's magic was capable of, how it could twist her psyche and rewrite her very thoughts, truly terrified her and Herpo knew it, the rotten bastard. Pressing her lips together to hold back the growl that wanted to escape, she pointedly stayed silent, waiting for Herpo to reach his point._

_Mouth twisting into a pout, almost, as she refused to play along to his little games, Herpo finally named his price. "You wish for my aid? Then in return, I want you." He said bluntly. "No, stop panicking, not like that," he added, twisted amusement on his ancient face as her upper lip automatically pulled back into a furious snarl, her hands curling to claws at her sides. "That was yours and brother's prerogative, dear, not mine. Matters of the flesh hold no interest to me, not anymore. No, I wish for your company, Athena. We are both alone in this world, in this dull future that has moved forward without us. We are forgotten relics and your race has been damned to an inevitable complete eradication. I will provide you with everything it is you wish– mind magic, protection, wards of concealment; all I ask in return is that if you survive your little vendetta, then you spend your next century with me; living in my home, by my side. Two and a half thousand years we have lived and now we are all that is left, sister. I am the only family you have."_

_Athenodora wanted to scream in frustration, because as much as she loathed to admit it, and she really, truly_ loathed _it, she couldn't deny that Herpo's words rang true to her. He was all that remained from the time where she had ruled, the only one she had._

_"What if I want more?" She asked abruptly. "What if I want you to fight with me?"_

_Herpo laughed, the mocking sound grating and unpleasant, and gestured at his aged, decrepit form. "Do I look like I can fight?" He chortled and she met his gaze calmly, not reacting to his derision._

_"We both know just how deceptive appearances are, brother," she said icily, "especially when it comes to people like us." Herpo's laughter halted abruptly, his eyes turning cold as death and sharp enough to cut. All traces of mocking humor had fled the aged, lined planes of his face, replaced with something ancient and powerful and_ strong _._

_"I have not fought in battle for over a thousand years, Athenodora." Herpo said quietly. "Nor have I desired to."_

_"You know me nearly as well as I know myself, brother," she replied with a dangerous smile that exposed the perfect rows of glistening white teeth. Despite the illusory youth of her painfully perfect face, there was something ancient about her in that moment too, something old and dark and hungry. "Yet you seem to forget, Herpo, that I know you too. War and violence, battle and death; they are in our blood, burned forever into me by the venom that Turned me. You desire the thrill of the fight, the fierce rush; you_ dream _of it. This age of relative peace, of wars fought by pistols not swords, of outlawed blood-sports and monarchy cast aside for elected parliaments; it bores me, so I know it bores you. Why should you not seize the chance to spill blood once more, to make people fear you instead of living in this dull obscurity? Why stay a mere footnote in history; we are the immortal Prince and Princess of Athens, Queen of the Vampires and Master of the Darkest Arts, and nobody, vampire, sorcerer or human, can stand before us."_

_Herpo's thin, cracked lips twisted into a gruesome smile and cruel, anticipatory hunger lit his flat, cold eyes. "We always did know each other too well," he said and Athenodora smiled too, fierce and triumphant, because she knew she'd won him._

-

-

**Forks, Washington: Bella Cullen**

After a lunch of cheese and tomato omelettes and two large thermoses filled with warmed O-positive, I settled back on the couch with my blanket and husband. The living room was filled with people and easy conversation; Seth, Jacob, Quil and Embry were discussing something related to the rez's high school, Paul and Emmett were watching a game on the wide-screen television and Rosalie had pulled Leah to the side and the two women were talking quietly.

Edward had his head rested gently on my stomach, his ear pressed just below my belly button as he listened to Baby's movements. One of my hands was cradling the swell of my belly while I ran the fingers of the other through Edward's hair, taking small amusement in messing up the already untidy bronze waves. As I relaxed, eyes half lidded, I started to hum softly, not really paying attention.

"It likes that," Edward said suddenly.

"What?" I mumbled, only half-listening.

"The baby likes hearing you hum." Edward clarified and that got my full attention.

"What? You mean– you can _hear_ Baby's thoughts? _"_ I demanded, shocked and barely aware of the way other conversation in the room seemed to die down.

"No, not thoughts, just... impressions, I think is the best word to describe it." Edward explained.

"And you didn't think to mention this before?" I asked incredulously.

"I wasn't even really sure it was the baby, earlier," Edward admitted. "But as you've gotten stronger, well, it has too."

"That's a good thing, right?" Jacob cut in, concern on his face.

"Of course it is!" Snapped Rosalie, glaring fiercely at him before turning to me, her expression softening. "You should sing to them," she suggested, before wrinkling her nose slightly. "Do we have any way of knowing if the baby is a boy or a girl? Non gender-specific terms seem very impersonal and I _refuse_ to call the baby 'it'." Here she shot Edward a particularly unimpressed look.

"And do you have any names?" Jacob asked eagerly.

"There's probably a spell to figure out gender," I said with a shrug, "but I kind of want it to be surprise... if that's okay?" I turned questioningly to Edward who nodded.

"If that's what you want, then it's what I want too," he said and Jacob made a fake gagging sound.

"Oh that's charming," I snapped at him with a glare. Jacob grinned, entirely unrepentant.

"That's me all over, Bella. Prince freaking Charming."

"Watch me swoon," I muttered and he snorted.

"Funny. Don't think I don't realise you're avoiding my question– have you thought up any names yet?" He repeated and I felt my cheeks heat up slightly and ducked my chin, avoiding the interested looks from around the room by looking at the swell of my stomach.

"Well... Edward and I haven't really discussed anything yet," I mumbled and Jacob scoffed.

"So? Come on, you can't say you haven't thought of anything yet!" He complained and I rolled my eyes, looking back up at him.

"What makes you think I'd want to tell you, if I had?" I countered and he scowled. Edward, from the floor beside me still, laughed.

"You should put him out of his misery, love," he said, giving me a warm smile. "And I'm quite interested in hearing what you've thought up too."

"Well..." I said slowly, "for a boy, I was thinking  maybe EJ?"

"EJ?" Edward asked curiously and I blushed.

"You said that your dad's name was Edward too, so I thought we could keep with the tradition– Edward Junior. EJ."

"EJ... I like it," Rosalie said thoughtfully. "The abbreviation is snappy and modern so he wouldn't be teased, but it's a traditional name too. What about for a girl?"

"Well, for a girl I was thinking Esmeralda." I mumbled, biting my lip and looking back down to my stomach. "I figured, the son would be named after your dad, so if it's a girl we should name her after my mom– Esmeralda is considered the extended version of Esme."

"That's beautiful, Bella," Rosalie said softly. "And Esme will be over the moon to hear it."

"Well, speaking of moons– I thought Luna for a middle name." I said, going red again, "for a girl, that is. And for a boy, don't laugh but I thought Harry. He saved us, Edward; he saved all of us."

"I think they're wonderful names," Edward said firmly, reaching over to cup one of my burning cheeks with his icy cold hand. I relaxed slightly, moving my hands to my stomach.

"What do you think?" I asked Baby. "Are you an EJ or an Esmeralda?"

"Well _I_ think that I can now start buying baby items stylized with the letter 'E', even if I can't buy either dolls or dinosaurs." Rosalie said, sounding very satisfied. I laughed, relaxing back against the couch again. As Edward rested his head over my baby bump again, I almost started humming but remembered his earlier comment about singing. I didn't really know many songs and as I knew full well I would never be able to hit the proper notes for ' _Cauldron Full of Hot, Strong Love'_ I instead turned to an old favorite, one I knew I'd never forget– not even if I lived for a thousand years or more.

_"Hogwarts, Hogwarts, Hoggy Warty Hogwarts,_   
_Teach us something please,_   
_Whether we be old and bald_   
_Or young with scabby knees,_   
_Our heads could do with filling,_   
_With some interesting stuff,_   
_For now they're bare and full of air,_   
_Dead flies and bits of fluff,_   
_So teach us things worth knowing,_   
_Bring back what we've forgot,_   
_Just do your best, we'll do the rest,_   
_And learn until our brains all rot!"_

Edward was laughing by the time I finished singing quietly, having picked the tune of 'twinkle, twinkle little star' to accompany the school song. "Who wrote that?" He asked.

"Dumbledore." I answered fondly, with a warm, reminiscent smile. "Probably. He was a bit bonkers like that."

When Qiang arrived then for my thrice-daily check-up, the sudden rapping on the front door of the mansion had me startling slightly. The reason for her not just apparating directly in quickly became clear, however– Charlie was with her.

She and my father looked suspiciously like they'd just been out on a date– Charlie's curly hair had been carefully brushed and he was wearing a pair of dress pants I'd never seen before and a nice button up shirt that wasn't plaid. With her long hair wound in a sleek high bun, Qiang looked as stunningly put together as usual, of course, but far less stiff while dressed in her muggle-style cranberry red dress, dark stockings and a black coat, then she did in her normal traditional Chinese robes. She appeared as at ease with performing a medical exam in her date clothes, however, as she was in healer robes, simply rolling up her sleeves, pulling out her wand and getting straight to business with casting a series of diagnosis charms.

"You appear well," she announced after a few minutes, sounding surprised but undeniably pleased. "Startlingly so."

"At least the rapid deterioration of my health has been countered by rapid improvement." I answered brightly. "'Cause I feel good, too."

And I did. Physically, at least– mentally, admittedly a lot less so. The stress of Athenodora and Alice and Jasper's spying plus the whole shifter situation, not to mention the fact I was actually _pregnant_ and _having a baby,_ could all be overwhelming if I let myself think about it too long, but it wasn't something I could avoid, exactly, either. And then there was the elephant in the room– while no one had mentioned it yet, I was very aware of the fact my baby was going to be immortal. As was my husband.

Immortality had never been something I'd sought. Living forever didn't interest me– only being with those I loved. But my husband and child would never die of old age and I didn't want to leave them behind as I moved on to my next great adventure.

We make sacrifices for the ones we love, and for Baby and Edward I was prepared to give up my magic and burn alive for three days and three nights. For them I would outlive my father and my friends. For them I would lose my place in the Magical world, for a vampire could never be accepted by most there.

I would do all that for them and I would do it without regret, but that didn't mean the thought of becoming a vampire didn't hurt. It didn't mean I was any less stressed about it all.

"How about the stress involved with the shape-shifter debacle?" Qiang asked, her eyes keen and shrewd as they fixed on mine. "Did you experience any negative effects from that?"

"Not really, I slept through most of it." I admitted. Jacob immediately sniggered.

"Yeah, that's what she said."

I narrowed my eyes at him. "Then you're clearly doing it wrong." I retorted and Qiang sighed, exasperated.

"Children, please," she said. "Try to remember you're adults for a few minutes, at least." Jacob and I both nodded meekly in response.

Once Qiang had kicked everyone out then finished the check-up with a physical examination, much to my relief she announced I wouldn't need any IVs or needles she'd threatened me with last time after all. And after asking her in a hushed voice to put up a few privacy charms so that the shifters wouldn't overhear, I told her about the solution to my starvation problem Edward had come up with– the blood. Qiang kept her composure remarkably well, only blinking a few times before nodding.

"Whatever it is that works we will take," she said, and other then wanting to know what sort of blood– O positive– and how much of it I was drinking– so far about three and a half litres– that was that. The lack of drama was a relief and a balm to my nerves.

After finishing up the examination with an application of bruise paste on my stomach, before Qiang could then invite everyone else back, I asked her to send Charlie in– alone. She raised an eyebrow but nodded, exiting the room with a sharp click of heels and leaving up the privacy charms for good measure. A minute later, Charlie knocked then entered.

"You're looking pretty sharp," I teased him as he sat down beside me. He smiled sheepishly.

"I took Qiang out for lunch," he admitted.

"Go dad!" I laughed and he rolled his eyes at me, cheeks going a bit pink.

"Ha-ha, Bells. Now stop avoiding what it is you really want to talk about– I'm pretty sure you didn't ask me in here just to tease me about my dating life."

"Ew, please don't call it that, that just sounds wrong," I said with a mock-shudder before slumping back against the cushions. "But yeah, you're right– I did ask to speak to you privately for a reason." I admitted. "I... well, I was talking to Edward about Renée earlier and it... it scared me."

"Oh Bella, honey," Charlie said, his voice sad and heavy as he wrapped an arm around my shoulders, tugging slightly so I was leaning into him. I rested my head against him, sighing softly.

"I'm scared," I admitted quietly, "that I won't know how to be a good mom, because I didn't have one."

"You're breaking my heart, kid," Charlie sighed, his grip around me tightening. "Bella, you're going to be the most amazing mother. I know you will, baby."

"But I don't know how to be a mother!" I said, choking up a bit.

"Cherish your child." Charlie replied gently. "Every moment. Even if they're different from what you expect. Even if they make you tear your hair out in frustration. Cherish them. Never lie to them. Lavish them with attention and love. And when it's time to let go, do it with as much grace as you can manage."

"You make it almost sound easy." I whispered and he laughed thickly.

"Being a parent is the hardest thing in the world, honey; but it's also the very best. I regret marrying Renée, god I do, but never once have I ever regretted you and I would do it all again with her, just to have you."

"Now you're going to make me cry," I mumbled.

"And letting your child go... Christ, Bells, I would have done anything to have been able to go in your place the first time Snatchers caught up to you here in Forks, then again with the Italy situation, then the damn battle at Hogwarts and then that vampire newborn army– having to let you go off and fight when every instinct in me was screaming to lock you away in bubble wrap and go out in your place... hardest damn thing I've ever had to do." Charlie muttered, shaking his head.

I was confused by his original mention of Snatchers catching up to me in Forks until I remembered that Charlie had never learned the truth about James. And as I realised he was the only one who didn't know about the tracker vampire, I was faced with the unpleasant awareness that I had to tell him the truth before he learned it from... well, just about anyone else. "Snatchers never caught up to me in Forks," I said, unable to look him in the eye. "I was actually running from a vampire, that time in spring."

"What– but you got hurt! I visited you in the hospital!" Charlie exclaimed and I continued looking down at my hands, studying them like they were the most interesting things I'd ever seen.

"The vampire I was running from– the mate of the one who made the army– tricked me," I admitted, "I thought he had Renée and he said he'd kill her if I didn't hand myself over to him."

Charlie made a low, furious noise, his grip on me tightening to the point it was almost painful. "Dammit, Bella!" He snapped, "saving Renée would never have been your responsibility– she's the parent! And surviving and knowing your child is dead in your place... that had to be a fate worse then death! If you ever do that again, I'll kill you myself!"

"Dad!" I exclaimed, jerking my head up to look at him with shocked eyes. He glowered back at me fiercely.

"I mean it, Bella – you're almost a mom; would you want that kid in your belly to ever die in your place?" He demanded and I blanched at the horrible thought.

"No," I whispered and Charlie nodded grimly.

"Remember that, Bella." He growled, before his face and tone softened. "For all her many faults," he said, "Renée is still the one who gave birth to you. There's still a part of the woman that I fell in love with, decades ago, inside her... deep, deep down. She wouldn't have wanted you to die for her, Bella– she does love you. Yeah, she never got over the witch thing, but she never stopped loving you. She's your mom."

I swallowed past the lump in my throat. "You really think that?" I whispered and Charlie smiled sadly.

"I do, honey. I really do."


	22. Chapter 22

****CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO:** **

Esme finally arrived bright and early the following day, along with Carlisle, Eleazar and Carmen. The two newborns they’d taken in after the battle against Victoria’s army had accompanied them; Bree and Fred, I remembered their names being.

Dressed nicely I barely recognized the little female newborn vampire. She was beautiful, of course, all slender and coltish, but now she looked less wild and savage. Her dark, wavy hair fastened in a heavy braid and her slim form clad in artfully faded jeans, ankle-boots and a lavender-colored blouse with a sweetheart neckline. The boy I didn’t recognize I assumed was Fred; he was very handsome, even for a vampire, tall and muscular with broad shoulders and thick, curly-blond hair.

And, as I’d prepared myself for, the Denali sisters also joined them; three pale-haired blondes, two who I’d met briefly at my wedding and one who was a stranger to me. Tanya and Kate had apprehensive looks on their lovely faces while the stranger who surely had to be Irina looked straight at me, hard-mouthed and fierce-eyed. Predictably, Edward reacted poorly to this– or to whatever it was she was thinking.

“ _Enough_ –” he started to snarl at her, but I interrupted him.

“Edward, forgot about her,” I said loudly. “If she wants to be all hung up over that piece of shit then let her– but that’s on _her_ , not us.” It was not my most diplomatic moment, but her grudge against me was too frustrating at this point; what, would she have preferred I’d let him kill me?

“He wasn’t a scumbag!” Irina spat.

“He tried to kill me!” I shot back. “He was a piece of shit and you’re better off without him!”

“Are you talking about that vampire you blew up in the clearing?” Jacob asked, with his usual lack of tact. “The one who looked about three seconds from ripping off your clothes?”

There was a moment of dead silence in the room and I cursed Jacob silently. Edward was the first one to speak, a truly dangerous growl to his words.

“ _What_?”

“It wasn’t like that,” I hastily explained– Edward looked like he wanted to resurrect Laurent just for the sheer pleasure of murdering him a second time and the horror on Esme and Rosalie’s faces had me rushing to reassure them that it was nothing like what they were thinking. “Laurent was just being… suggestive and I went along with it, seeing as he was also telling me how he was cheating on his animal diet and was about to murder me and how I was lucky it was him seeing as Victoria would have dragged it out.”

“ _Went along with it_?” Edward repeated through clenched teeth.

“He didn’t touch me,” I said firmly. “The wolves distracted him and I blew his arse up.”

“I don’t believe you!” Irina snarled, her hands curled into claws at her sides as she glared furiously at me, “You’re _lying_! He wouldn’t do that!”

“Oh grow up and get your head out of your arse already!” I snapped at her. “He _used_ you and that sucks–”

“I loved him!” She interrupted me shrilly.

“Really?” Leah (of all people) scoffed loudly, “were you really in love with him? Or were you just in love with the idea of being in love with him?”

Irina didn’t answer, seeming stunned almost as she stared at Leah, who glared fiercely back at her, chin high. “Believe me, I know shitty boyfriends– my ex left me for my fucking _best friend_! Bella and the Cullens aren’t lying and you know it; that fucker used you and you can do better.”

To my astonishment, it seemed that Leah appeared to actually be getting through to Irina. The pale-haired vampire had faltered, hesitating where before she’d been yelling. “I loved him,” she said again, but this time her words were quiet and the grief on her face had me swallowing, wanting to look away. Leah’s face softened.

“Maybe you did,” she allowed, “but that doesn’t change things.”

Irina looked away then, her grief sharp enough to cut, and Tanya reached out to gently lay a hand on her sister’s shoulder. “I think we need a moment,” she said quietly.

“The rooms you used last time are ready for you,” Edward spoke up, the aggression gone from his voice and stance. “And Luna has applied silencing charms to each of them so you will have privacy within their walls.”

“Thank you,” Tanya said with a short nod, before she and her sisters left the room, her and Kate having to pull the lost-looking, grief-stricken Irina after them.

“I really do hope this dreadful mess is over now,” Esme said with a quiet sigh, after about a minute had passed– I assumed the Denali sisters were in the privacy of the bedroom by then.

“I think Irina might finally be ready to take the first step towards moving past it,” Edward told her and Esme nodded gratefully.

“I’m glad,” she said softly. “This is a dangerous time right now. Our family needs to keep together and stay strong to get through it.”

There was a solemn silence following her words, one that was broken by Leah this time. “Men,” she said, with a dark scowl, “are fucking hopeless.”

“Utterly so,” Rosalie agreed, “they’re ridiculous creatures with the self-awareness of a hermaphrodite snail with multiple personality disorder.”

“Ouch,” Emmett said. Rosalie just patted his shoulder.

-

After the drama of the Denalis’ arrival, things calmed down. This was a good thing, of course, but bed rest when I wasn't feeling like I was dying was actually very boring. That wasn't surprising but it was very annoying and Esme's suggestion of inviting over Katie and Angela was one met with great enthusiasm on my part.

After introducing them to the new arrivals, I was glad to surrender myself to the lighter chatter they brought. I was listening to Angela telling Katie and I the gossip surrounding Jessica and the Newton boy getting back together– "again," she said with a roll of her eyes– and wincing occasionally as Baby shifted around when I heard it, a startling cracking sound. It was followed by a moment of confused silence– and then the pain hit me.

My vision went grey and fuzzy for a moment as the pain lanced through my chest. I'd never broken a rib before; I'd had parts of my skin flayed off, had nearly been cut in half, had been poisoned, had vampire venom in my veins, hell I'd even been tortured, but a broken rib was new.

It wasn't the worst thing I'd ever felt– it was also not something I'd ever recommend.

Air escaped my lips in wheezes as I struggled to breathe properly through the sickly, stabbing pain, struggled to keep from panicking as I failed to get enough oxygen. I felt a bit like I might throw up but the thought of how much that would hurt and the mental image of the fountain of blood that would come up thanks to my currently rather singular diet had me fight back against the rising sensation in the back of my throat.

"Get Qiang!" Someone was shouting and I could feel Edward and Jacob's hands touching me, patting me, could feel Rosalie cradling my face as she calmly told me to breathe in and out and in and out. It took me a few minutes to calm down, but it was more the shock of what had happened then the pain that had taken me off guard. Once that was under control, managing the pain was quick to follow.

"Bella? Bella, are you okay?" Jacob demanded when I managed to pat one of Rosalie’s hands in thanks.

"Y-Yeah," I gasped out at the same time as Edward snarled,

"No! It just broke her ribs!"

"N-not this again," I groaned. "F-for Merlin's sake! It was an accident! Baby just doesn't know their own strength!"

Edward looked coldly furious as I cradled my stomach and glared at him and Rosalie hovered protectively next to me, a threatening growl building up behind her dangerous teeth. Esme planted her hands on her hips and gave both her children a very disapproving look.

"Enough!" She said sharply enough that both Rose and Edward turned to her in surprise. "Rosalie, Edward is allowed to be distressed about his mate being hurt. Edward, Bella is right– no, be quiet and let me talk," she scolded when Edward opened his mouth. "I know you feel guilty, that you blame the fact that the baby is half vampire for hurting her. The truth is, even human babies can hurt their mothers. My own mother died in childbirth. Did that make my infant sister a monster, Edward?"

Esme was a champion, I decided as Edward's face shuttered with guilt. "Bringing life into the world is always a risk," Esme said gently, reaching forwards to cradle her son's face with her hands. "But it is a risk we women choose to take, because we know the reward."

Qiang's sudden appearance as she apparated into the room had me hiss in pain as I jolted my newly broken rib. The new arrivals reacted as expected, the Denali sisters all hissing while Bree fell into a defensive crouch and Fred went very, very still. Qiang spared them a brief, dismissive look before sweeping over to me, flicking her wand over my chest.

"Broken rib," she said briskly. "Not unexpected."

"Terrific. Thanks for the warning." I said pointedly. She ignored me, busy pulling a small pink potion from the pocket of her robes.

"Drink," she ordered, waiting for me to take the phial before tapping the point of her wand over where the pain was worse. I swore loudly as a loud clunk echoed through the room, the pain enough to turn my vision white for a moment. Then, the pain was blessedly gone and I exhaled I relief before unstoppering the potion and swallowing it quickly. It tasted like I imagined gravel might taste like in a liquid form– unpleasant and sort of chalky, but not the worst potion I'd ever had the displeasure of sampling.

"That should hopefully strengthen your bones up," Qiang explained, frowning a bit as she continued to cast diagnostic charms. "We did expect for the foetus to grow in strength as you did, but we failed to factor your previous condition into our calculations. The brief starvation caused more damage to your body then expected– far more then it should have. We'll need to be vigilant and cautious."

"Well, it's not like I'm going anywhere." I pointed out, having barely contained the urge to shout 'constant vigilance!' like my third year DADA professor (who'd actually turned out to be a disguised Death Eater) had been so fond of doing.

"A balm on my nerves," Qiang agreed. "The gods only know the trouble you'd be getting into otherwise." I glared at her but some of the others in the room laughed, the dirty traitors. 

"I like you," one of the Denali sisters– Kate– announced, smiling playfully at Qiang. "You're fun."

"And taken, I'm afraid." Qiang said without even missing a beat.

"The good ones always are," sighed Kate. "Or straight."

"Tell me about it," Jacob said in commiseration.

"What's the soonest you can get the- the baby out of her?" Edward asked Qiang, ignoring the banter.

"Going by how the foetus is growing, I'd be happy with a twenty eight day gestation." Qiang said. "November 3rd is the earliest I'd be comfortable performing the cesarean."

"It's only the 27th today," Edward said, visibly frustrated. "Can we really afford to wait another week if it– if the baby is already breaking her bones?"

"I'll be revisiting my estimate everyday as it is only an estimate, but as of right now that is the earliest date I am comfortable with." Qiang said sharply.

"Son," Carlisle said quietly when Edward looked like he was going to keep arguing. Edward seemed to deflate almost, his shoulders slumping.

"So be it." He murmured and I tried and failed to not feel horribly guilty.

-

-

****_Mineral de Pozos, Mexico: Alice & Jasper_ ** **

_Alice gasped as the glimpse of the future faded from before her eyes. After taking a quarter of a second to reorient herself, she jerked her head up to meet the worried tawny eyes of her mate. "We need to contact home," she said, not bothering to hide the fear audible in her bell-like voice. As Jasper reached towards her she gladly curled in his arms, letting his Gift soothe the panic that had welled up inside her._

_"What did you see?" Jasper asked gently, careful not to let his own concern carry over to his mate as terrible scenarios flittered through his mind. It was rare for her visions to leave her so shaken up and they’d both agreed to contact home as little as possible, the maintenance of their cover more important then checking in with their family._

_Alice's eyes met his and there was a grim set to her pointed jaw. "I saw her," she said, her words barely a whisper, a small shudder running through her tiny frame, "I saw Athenodora– she's arrived in Forks."_


	23. Chapter 23

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning for mildly graphic violence

********CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE:** **

****

****_Washington, Olympic Mountain Range: Athenodora_ ** **

_Deep within the wide forest, Athenodora observed her army. Snow crunched under her bare feet as she glided around, examining the activity around her._

_It was cold, here in Washington– especially up on the mountains. Athenodora hated it. As a human, all those thousands of years past, she'd lived in lovely Greece, with its long, hot, dry summers and mild, wet winters. Her birthplace had left its impression on her, no matter how long ago her human life had been, and she relished in the heat. As a vampire she'd lived in a number of places but her favourites had always remained the hotter, dryer ones._

_It almost felt purposefully mocking that the Cullens and their pet witch had forced her to come to this accursed place to fight. Why they couldn't have chosen somewhere to settle down without snow was a mystery to her._

_Having finished her rounds and satisfied with how Maria was organising the army with Herpo’s… specific assistance, Athenodora made her way to where Alec was completing a task for her, one located several miles away from the rest of the army due to the necessity of it being out of scent-range and upwind of all the newborns._

_As she approached the clearing Alec had been working in, she was practically assaulted by the scent of spilled blood; warm, rich and mouth-watering. Stepping out into the gap in the trees she raised her eyebrow at the mess of crimson soaking the snow, careful to step around it as she glided forwards, ignoring the burning in her throat through the skill that came with living thousands of years._

_Alec glanced up at her approach, straightening from his crouch. His hands were drenched from the tips of his fingers to his elbows in red but the human at his feet was still alive so it was evident he hadn't consumed a drop of its blood. It was an impressive display of control, she could admit, one that was gained through both almost an enviable self-discipline and centuries of this existence– and despite his apparent youth, Athenodora was very aware that Alec was one of the oldest of her army._

_"Is it ready, do you think?" He asked her, idly curious._

_Athenodora surveyed his work with a pleased curve to her mouth. It would do very nicely for their purposes, she decided. "Wonderful work,” she gave praise where it was due. “It just requires a few… finishing touches."_

_Alec clenched his jaw slightly. "I don't understand the need for games." He said and she laughed, the sound deceptively bright and sweet._

_"That is because you are young still," she told him. "But you will learn."_

_Alec narrowed his eyes for a moment before his expression smoothed over. He then smiled cruelly and hauled the human, its eyes crazed with pain and misty with blood loss, up by its hair. “I only wish I could see their faces when they receive our little... gift." He said, vicious and vindictive, and Athenodora’s smile easily matched the ruthless sadism in the younger vampire’s eyes._

_"They will be a sight to behold." She agreed. “Now hold it still, so I can finish. This will be delicate work.”_

-

-

****Washington, Forks: Bella Cullen** **

I woke the next day to a house that was even more crowded then it had been the day before, with its twelve vampires, six wolf shifters and three magicals– and to some truly horrible news.

I'd moved from the couch to the bed in Edward's room to sleep, wanting the extra comfort of the bed when my stomach was so sore. Luna and Draco had shared the room with me overnight, seeing as Jacob, Quil, Embry and Paul were apparently bunking in the room that had been theirs– I was annoyed on their behalf until an amused Luna had explained that she'd offered.

It had been Luna who broke the news to me when I woke– Alice had sent a message to us, late the previous evening; Athenodora was in Forks. Or, at least in Washington.

It was very… unsettling, to say the least, having Athenodora so close by when I was so bloody defenceless. I'd had to get Esme to help me visit the _loo_ and then go downstairs, for Merlin's sake! I felt like a beached whale– in more ways then one, too, considering I couldn’t see my own bloody toes.

Hermione was sitting on the couch that I’d taken over, across from two wizards I didn’t recognize other then that they were wearing Auror uniforms. “Good morning Bella,” she greeted me warmly, standing up to press a kiss to my cheek then help me sit in the spot where she’d been, only moments ago. “These are Matteo and Einhardt, from the Italian and German Auror divisions,” she introduced me to the two strangers in my living room.

“This is about Athenodora?” I guessed and she nodded grimly.

“Since Alice’s message last night we’ve had Aurors going over Forks and the surrounding area with a fine-tooth comb,” she informed me. “Unfortunately, the Olympic mountain range gives far too much area for Athenodora to hide in. We’d hoped that a newborn army would have made it more difficult for her to stay hidden but she’s doing a frustratingly good job so far.”

“The Pack is re-allying with Sam,” Jacob spoke up, his face grim. “In the face of another newborn vampire army, one led by an ancient vampire with one hell of a grudge and a bunch of more experienced vampires acting as lieutenants who are just as pissed, one unborn vampire hybrid is nothing to worry about. Sam’s already agreed to meet and we’re going to sort out patrols to protect the rez.”

“And the Aurors are going to protect Forks,” Hermione said, nodding at Jacob. “I’m about to go meet with your father, Bella– we’re going to get American Aurors to go undercover as policemen to patrol the town. We’re hoping that any vampires won’t think to hide from supposed muggles and we’ll be able to locate them that way. Also, policemen patrolling about raises far less questions then oddly-dressed strangers.”

“Are we– are we in danger?” I asked, my hands going to my stomach. I felt Baby prod at me gently under my palms and swallowed anxiously.

“Yes,” Hermione answered me honestly, despite the way Edward tensed. “You are. We all are. And unfortunately, nowhere you could go would change that. According to our list of the Volturi Guard who survived the cull, Athenodora has a vampire with a Gift for tracking– if we moved you to another place, she would find you. And in your current state, continuously moving you around wouldn’t be safe.”

“So we should stay here,” I said, my heart sinking.

“You should.” Hermione agreed, with a soft sigh. “I’m sorry, Bella. This isn’t exactly the most stress-free environment you could be in right now.”

“Since when is anything in life easy?” I sighed too and Hermione’s lips quirked up in a tired smile.

“I’ve found that nothing worth having ever is.”

-

It was a slow, tense day. Stress left me even more drained and bone-tired then the baby in my stomach and I spent most of it curled up on the couch or the bed with either Luna or Edward, depending on who was needed where. The only bright spot so far had been Hermione accidentally apparated only a few inches away from Jacob, who in his shock, one perpetuated by the uneasy state that we were all stuck in, had let out the sort of high-pitched scream I’d previously thought reserved for prepubescent girls. Apparently I was wrong. Also, I never intended on letting him forget it– that’s what big sisters were for, after all.

It was during the afternoon, when I was laying down with Luna in the bedroom, that I asked my best friend what I hadn’t dared ask anyone else.

“Do you think we’ll survive this?”

Everyone was being so careful not to show any panic or fear in front of me, but the oppressive emotions were practically a physical presence in the mansion, heavy and weighted; it felt like I was drowning in them.

Luna narrowed her eyes, her mouth a fiercely unhappy curve. “We survived the Second Blood War,” she said, voice like steel. “We suffered countless atrocities, heartbreaking losses and shattering defeats, but we kept on fighting Death Eaters and Snatchers and Voldemort and we didn’t just survive, we _won_! We will _not_ let some vampire destroy everything that we _fought_ and _cried_ and _bled_ for!”

“I feel helpless, though,” I admitted to her, my heart beating wildly in my chest as her words washed over me; strong and fierce and inspiring. “I was never this helpless during the war, even when I was underage and had the Trace on me. I just… I _hate_ this– I _hate_ knowing I can’t defend myself or everyone that I love.” My voice got caught in my throat and Luna threaded her fingers through mine, squeezing.

“You are _never_ helpless, Isabella Marie Cullen,” she said, fiercely. “Not while you have us at your side.”

“Then I’m never letting you go,” I told her, using our joint hands to pull her into a hug and clinging to her, tight and a little desperate.

“Never.” Luna agreed, clinging right back.

-

As the sun started to set, I returned downstairs to get something to eat for dinner. Well, something to drink– my interest in human food had vanished but I did manage to drink nearly two and half litres of blood in just one sitting.

Esme had used the day to bake up a small feast for all the shifters, one complete with a triple-layered chocolate cake that had all the shifters who weren’t patrolling, even Leah and Paul, all profess their undying love to its chocolate-y goodness. I did try a slice in my attempts to eat something solid but it tasted like ashes in my mouth.

Esme had handed an exhausted-looking Hermione a tall mug of tea when she’d staggered into the dining room and collapsed onto a chair and the British witch had sighed happily as she practically chugged it down. “Thank you,” she said, between long gulps, “this is exactly what I needed– it’s delicious.”

“I put vodka in it,” Esme winked and Hermione managed to crack a smile while a surprised giggle escaped me.

“It’s not quite that good, I’m afraid,” the other muggleborn said warmly. Leah laughed then, from where she was leaning against the wall, and opened her mouth to say something (probably request that Esme produce that alluded-to vodka) when she was interrupted by the sound of loud howling.

In an instant, Jacob had phased; a huge russet wolf stood where he had been just seconds ago, tilting its head. Beside me, Edward suddenly swore violently, apparently reading Jacob’s mind as he communicated over the pack mind-link with whoever it was who’d howled.

“What is it?” I demanded. Edward actually looked sickened, shaking his head silently. Jacob shifted back to human form then and immediately staggered through the doorway to the kitchen, over to the sink where he bent over and emptied his stomach, apparently completely uncaring of his nakedness and the fact he was flashing his bare arse and his _dangly bits_ to anyone who glanced through the open doorway.

“What’s happening?” Rosalie demanded sharply, impatient. Edward remained silent, his face a mask of horror, and Jacob was too busy throwing up in the other room to answer. Leah gave a frustrated growl, one that was impressively loud for her currently human vocal cords, and then there was a large grey wolf standing in the dining room. A moment later she shifted back, her russet skin impressively pale. She appeared just as uncaring of her nakedness as Jacob and just as sick.

“Outside.” She managed to say, “lawn. By the trees.” And then she was rushing through to the kitchen and shoving Jacob out of the way to take her own turn at the sink.

“Don’t even think about it,” I told Edward before he could even try leaving me behind. “Or I’ll get Rose to help me.” I added when it looked like he was about to do so anyway.

“Trust me, you don’t want to see this,” Edward warned, even as the others darted to their feet, disappearing towards the front door. From the swell of voices audible even to my ears, the other vampires in the house had joined those of us who’d been in the dining room. Edward’s mouth pressed into an unhappy line but he didn’t try to argue, instead wrapping an arm around my waist to help me waddle in the direction of everyone else, stepping out through the wide-open front door and onto the porch, then the grass.

Despite the fact the only light I had was the moon, I barely needed to step off the porch to get a good look at what had made Jacob and Leah so ill, what had Edward so bone-white and sickened. I immediately wished I’d listened to Edward’s warning.

There was a body on the lawn, over by the tree line. It was twisted, mangled beyond recognition– it wasn’t even recognisably human from my view. An arm seemed to sprout from its chest, and a head– disfigured, gone, just faceless skin over what would be a skull– hung from a bent branch a couple centimetres from where the neck would be. A leg, bent backwards then forwards in a painful zigzag, was stuck in a tree– there was no other leg. Slashes showed under the ripped clothing; small slashes, big slashes, no longer bleeding and never scarring.

There should be blood, but there was none, no trail, no pool... there was a trail of torn clothes– actually no, that wasn't a trail of material, it was nerve and muscle tissue and bones leading towards the other arm.

Bone. Skin ripped off the bone, peeled off so carefully, so elegantly, like some sick ritual. Bone and nerves, tied together, unconnected to the main body but– I had to turn away, unable to keep looking.

"I guess Athenodora wants us to know that she’s here." I said weakly. And then I threw up. A lot. The blood I’d had for dinner splashed onto the ground and all down my front, gaining me alarmed looks that Rosalie had to explain as I was in no condition to and Edward, bone-white and horrified, was busy holding me upright and keeping my hair out of my face. Baby, unsettled by all the retching, was moving around unhappily, bruising my tender insides. I was glad for the bone-strengthening potion I’d had yesterday otherwise I was sure I’d have more broken ribs.

"Bella," Edward said, helplessly, once I’d finished violently emptying my stomach. I vaguely noticed that either Luna, Draco or Hermione had put up some sort of shield to cut me off from Bree and Fred, both of them looking very thinly in control when faced with so much blood. Most of my attention, however, was on Edward’s face.

"Oh fuck," I croaked, as I really registered his expression. "We– we know them." Not even a mother would be able to recognise her child like this, but Edward didn’t need a face– he just needed a scent.

"It's Jessica." He said quietly, his dark eyes agonised, and I vomited again, even though nothing but acid came up.

"Angela," I choked out, between gagging. "Oh god, Angie..." Angela and Jessica had been friends since kindergarten, even though they'd grown apart in the final year of high school and the months since. This was going to kill her.

“I’m so sorry,” Edward breathed and I turned so my face, filthy with blood and bile but in this moment entirely uncaring of the fact, was pressed against his chest and just cried.

-

Edward had to carry me inside I was so exhausted from the vomiting and crying. I felt… hollow, almost, like my insides had all been scraped out (and oh sweet Rowena, that was a terrible choice of wording considering what I’d just seen… or maybe entirely fitting).

I clung to Luna’s hand almost desperately as she sat to my right on the couch Edward had placed me on, Draco then on her other side. Draco looked as bad as I felt, grey-faced, breath shallow and visibly shaking. His eyes were vacant, like whatever it was he was seeing was hundreds of miles away from the room we were in. Vaguely, I wondered what horrors he was reliving; Malfoy Manor had been a Death Eater base, one that had housed even Voldemort himself, and I couldn’t even imagine what sort of atrocities had been committed inside its walls and in front of a horrified young teenager who could do nothing but stand there and witness it.

“What do we do about the body?” Emmett asked quietly, eventually voicing what everyone else seemed almost afraid to.

“ _Jessica_!” I snarled, before I could stop myself. “She’s not just a– a _body_ , she was a _human being_ and she was young and stupid and she _didn’t deserve this_!” I started crying again, angry, distraught tears that felt like they’d never stop. I hadn’t liked Jessica, but she wasn’t a bad person; she was just an ordinary muggle teenager, the centre of her own world and looking for her prince charming to sweep her away. She hadn’t deserved the horrors Athenodora had committed upon her in order to send a message.

Edward stroked my hair soothingly. “Emmett didn’t mean it like that, Bella,” he said gently and I laughed, thick and bitter through my tears.

“I know, _I know_ , it’s just– it’s not fucking fair! This– this _shouldn’t_ have happened to her, she’s not part of this!”

“Innocents are usually the ones who suffer most during times of war,” Carlisle said quietly, sorrowful.

“We’ll need to talk to Charlie,” Hermione said, sounding sickened but unwavering. I looked over at her to see her face was pale but set, her eyes steely with a fierce, unwavering resolve. “As Jessica is a muggle casualty and he’s the chief of police of this town, he’ll need to be involved in deciding how we’ll handle returning Jessica to her parents for burial. Considering the… state of her body, it’s likely that we’ll have to stage a terrible car accident.”

I shuddered, slipping my arms free from Edward and Luna to curl them around my stomach, around the restless baby growing there, squeezing my eyes so tightly shut it was painful. Edward started stroking my hair again and I leaned into him, listening vaguely to the distinct sound of Hermione apparating away. “How did they get so close without us hearing?” I asked, my voice rough and scratchy from crying. Edward stiffened, a tense, unhappy line beside me.

“I don’t know,” he said. “It shouldn’t have been possible for whoever it was to get so close and one of us at least should have been able to smell the– to smell Jessica.”

“Should we leave here?” Esme asked softly.

“Leaving here would only draw her attention to a different town,” Emmett told her. “If we want to prevent any more deaths then we need to kill the bitch.”

“That is the plan,” Rosalie agreed viciously. Beside me, Luna suddenly let out a sharp, shallow sound, her hands unexpectedly seizing onto my right arm. My eyes flew open as I twisted in place to look at her.

“Bella…” she whispered, her slender fingers leaving stark white marks on my skin as she leaned forwards slightly. Her eyes, normally a light silver-grey, looked like liquid mercury, and shadows seemed to whisper through her hair, shining and brilliant as the pale moon visible through the window. She looked fey, in this moment; otherworldly in a way I’d never quite seen her before.

“Luna?” I asked, my heart beating quicker in my chest, unease twisting in my gut.

“No, no, no,” she whispered and I could hear the blatant fear in her voice. To her side, Draco seemed to come back to himself, his steel-grey eyes fixing on the girl he loved in alarm. “No, _no_ , _no, no!_ ” she repeated, her voice rising.

“What is it?” I asked and her fingers felt like they were tightening further as she fixed her gaze to an empty space in the room. I wondered, more then a bit desperately, just what she was seeing there. She’d tried to describe it to me once, what the world looked like through her eyes. It was a colourful place, she’d said, one of strange lights flickering in shadowed corners where the light shouldn’t reach, one of wisps of colour swirling around her feet, little things floating around in the air, invisible to all eyes but hers.

The world was an ever-turning wheel, spinning and breaking and building, its past and present and future bare to those capable of seeing it. Luna was capable of witnessing glimpses and as I stared at that empty spot in the room, I wondered helplessly what she saw there that had terrified her into silence.

And then I got my answer as a _crack_ of displaced air heralded Hermione’s return, heralded her sudden appearance in the same spot that Luna’s quicksilver-bright eyes were fixed on, only she was alone and there was a very grim expression on her paler then ash face. A terrible, terrible fear seized onto me, squeezing my throat so tight I couldn’t speak, couldn’t even breathe.

“I’m so sorry,” Hermione whispered, sounding both shaken and gutted as she shook her head. “I’m so, so sorry Bella– Charlie’s disappeared; all we could find was a pool of blood. He’s gone.” 


	24. Chapter 24

**CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR:**

 

The attitude in the Cullen's mansion had changed amongst its grim-faced inhabitants and constant stream of visitors. The atmosphere of fear and panic had disappeared and in its place was anger; we weren't on the defensive anymore, no– Athenodora had left us a challenge and we were responding to it with war.

The next two days crawled past with a grim sense of preparation. Witches and wizards I'd never seen before would apparate into the mansion, going over to the dining room where the 'war council' had been set up.

Jacob and Sam had placed aside their differences and the horse-sized wolves trained relentlessly in the yard whenever they weren't patrolling, all of them sleeping in shifts with Sam, Leah and Jacob joining Hermione, the Cullens and the Auror hit-squad as part of the 'war council' to strategize.

There was no sign of my dad. I tried to make myself see the lack of a body showing up as a sign of his continued survival, but it was difficult. The sight of Jessica's tortured, mutilated corpse was too fresh in my mind and the thought of the torture he could be experiencing if he was still alive was almost equally as horrifying as thinking he could be dead.

 _Dead_. My _dad_. My innocent, defenseless, muggle dad.

Qiang wasn't taking his disappearance standing down. Rage and grief had turned her even more dangerous then the time I'd seen her take on Victoria and win. She'd moved into the Cullen's mansion so as to be permanently located where all the action was, ordering Angela and her family to go to China until Athenodora was dealt with; Katie had gone with them, to my quiet relief.

While this was all happening, I was continuing to swell up like a balloon. Couch-bound and more powerless then a muggle child, the strengthening potions Qiang kept providing me with were doing very little. Baby was extremely restless, the poor thing being horribly affected by the extreme stress and grief and fear I was feeling. I'd suffered two more broken ribs that Qiang had quickly and easily healed, but a phantom pain remained. Or maybe the pain in my chest when I breathed was from knowing my dad was out there, dead or dying or hurting, and there was nothing I could do.

I didn't see much of Edward. I didn't begrudge it of him, I knew he was trying to find my dad, trying to protect me by finishing this, but I still felt set adrift in the ocean during a terrible storm and I just wanted my husband to hold me and kiss me and tell me everything would all be alright.

And almost more then that, I wanted to be able to actually contribute in some way. I wanted to be helping fight Athenodora and her army, not bloody well lying on the couch with a cup of cooling blood balanced on my massively swollen midriff, wondering if it would be worth the mess if I sucked in as much air as I could so that the cup would tip sideways and spill everywhere, just so I could see if it would fall to the left or the right.

Luna was a spot of brightness amidst it all. She understood what I was going through more then anyone else; she'd lost her father in the war, lost him to a drawn-out death at the enemy's hands. She was a true blessing, and coming from an atheist such as myself, that was really saying something. When I told her I just felt like talking about nothing, even knowing that if we did then absolutely nothing would change, she started discussing her favorite colors. When I wanted to whisper my fears in her ear, she listened, quiet and solemn.

Draco had also been startlingly helpful. Due to just how full the mansion was– and my reluctance to be parted from Luna– he, Luna and I (and technically Edward, though as he didn't actually sleep he was rarely there) were sharing a bedroom– and a bed. After a nightmare had jolted me from an already uneasy rest, one that had me wake up thrashing in the bed, sweating and choking and _shaking_ so badly my fingers wouldn't move, Draco had talked me through the burgeoning panic attack. Only a few hours later, I'd helped talk him down from his own nightmare.

Wars left behind damaged children– _soldiers_ – and the fresh horrors we'd faced these past few days and the far-too familiar atmosphere we were surrounded in (and my _panic/fear/loss_ about Charlie's disappearance) was having a toll on all our psyches.

In the dark, with Luna asleep between us and Edward downstairs with the war council, Draco had quietly opened up to me. "Sometimes," he'd confessed in what was barely a whisper, "I would be sent down to the cellar to torture the prisoners by myself. I just couldn't do it, though. I made Luna... I made her scream, but I didn't actually hurt her, I– I _couldn't_. It's just so awful, knowing what you can do to someone, how much you can hurt them, but they can't fight back. I don't understand how anyone could do it, how anyone could possibly take any sort of _pleasure_ from it."

I'd reached over Luna then, found Draco's hand in the dark and squeezed, offering a silent comfort. There weren't really any words that could be said in response to that.

It was on the second day that I finally reached my breaking point. If I was being honest, I was actually surprised that I hadn't reached it earlier. While sitting on the couch having a purposefully meaningless conversation with Luna, I just started crying and couldn't stop.

Someone, probably Luna, went to fetch Edward for me. My husband lifted me into his arms, carried me upstairs and in the privacy of our bedroom, he finally held me like I'd been wanting him to, like I _needed_ him to; just that little bit too tightly, tight enough to bruise, to leave marks on my pale skin that would stay even when his hands were gone.

He kissed me through the tears and my shaking hands as I clung to him in return. I closed my eyes and pictured Isle Esme; the clear water, the waves curling and washing up on the white sand, the feel of Edward's body against mine, and then started concentrating on making that a reality. Edward didn't even hesitate, perhaps needing it just as much as I did.

We fell easily into the familiar rhythm, despite the inconvenience of my stomach; we just knew each other, knew what felt good and where, knew our limits and boundaries, and it felt like _home_. "I love you, I love you, I love you," I panted and gasped and mouthed against Edward's marble skin, over and over. He said it back; said it into my neck, my breasts, my shoulders and my mouth, putting me back together piece by piece until I felt whole again.

"Sorry," I whispered after, my back pressed to his chest as we curled together in the bed and he pressed soft kisses to the back of my neck and the bump of my spine.

"Don't be sorry," Edward murmured back, "it was my fault. I knew how much you would be hurting but I was so focused on trying to fix the situation that I forgot how you would need me."

"I didn't want to need you," I admitted softly. "I didn't want you to think I was all... needy and pathetic."

"Never," he said firmly. "I'm your husband, Bella; you're supposed to need me and I'm supposed to be here when you need me– and vice versa."

"Well I feel ready to take on the world again," I told him and I was surprised to realise that I actually meant it too.

"Let's stay here a little longer anyway," Edward said and I was more then happy to do just that.

We eventually returned downstairs, Edward carrying me to the living room and putting me down on my couch. After wrapping me up in the blankets he pressed a kiss to my forehead then looked at me questioningly, apparently needing to double-check to reassure himself that I really was fine with being left– I was, but I still took the opportunity to tug his mouth back to mine for a nice, long kiss anyway.

"Ew," complained Jacob from the armchair across the room where he looked like he'd half collapsed. His face was lined with exhaustion, the ever-present fear that was on everyone visible in the tenseness around his eyes, the ever-present anger in the tightness of his mouth. "Get a room." He added, pulling a face when we continued to kiss.

"We've got one," I informed him as Edward finally moved away. "We're letting it air."

"Again, _ew_ ," Jacob said with a shudder and Edward chuckled, pressing a last kiss to the tip of my nose, his fingertips brushing against my swollen stomach before he disappeared off in the direction of the war council. Jacob hauled himself up from the armchair and loped across the room to flop down next to me on my couch, all sprawling limbs and exhausted slump.

"How did the patrol go?" I asked him, moving my hand over to stroke my fingers through his shaggy hair. "See anything out there?"

"Trees, mostly." He said through a yawn. "And lots of bugs." He then grinned up at me, the mischief in his eyes causing me to tense automatically. "I have to say, when I saw Edward carrying you in here I wasn't sure if I was looking at a very, very pregnant chick or a well-disguised whale." He teased and I gasped, shocked into silence for a moment. Just a moment, though.

"Oh you son of a bitch!" I spluttered, "Jacob Black, I'm going to fucking kill you, you–" Several minutes of increasingly explicit swearing and threats later I paused to ask the suspiciously silent Jacob who'd never managed to show a degree of self-preservation before this so I couldn't see why he'd be starting now, "and what do you have to say for yourself?"

"Your mouth screamed profanities but your eyes were laughing." He said smugly and I glowered down at him.

"You're a dead man." I promised.

"Oh dear," Hermione, who was cradling a large mug of tea in her hands (and I wondered if this one really did have vodka in it– she really looked like she needed it), said as she walked into the room. "Dare I ask?"

"Basically, pregnancy crap is nasty," Jacob informed her.

  
"It's the miracle of new life," I pointed out and he scoffed.

"I don't care what you dress it up as, that crap is nasty."

Hermione looked like she was trying not to laugh as Jacob and I bickered, sitting down on the armchair Jacob had been sprawled over before, relaxing back onto the cushions with a relieved sigh. "Merlin, that feels good," she murmured, more to herself then either of us, before she looked up at me and managed a small smile. "You look better," she noted and I nodded.

"I feel better," I admitted. "Though I still feel like I could use some tea with honey and lemon... and whiskey. Except without the honey or lemon... or tea." Hermione smiled again, but this time I was paying enough to attention to realise just how strained it looked. I immediately tensed. "Hermione," I said carefully, "is there a reason you look so worried?"

"It's– it's nothing really," Hermione said in a way that meant yes, yes it was definitely something. My concern immediately started ratcheting up. "It's just... well, tomorrow is Halloween," she admitted with a sigh. "And if there's one thing that remained constant during my years at Hogwarts, it was the fact that something terrible always happened on Halloween."

I swallowed nervously, my hands moving automatically to my stomach. Baby nudged against my palms and I took some comfort from the touch. "Well... we're not at Hogwarts," I offered, "so maybe nothing will happen?"

Hermione nodded but her face said she believed that about as much as I did. Which was Not At All.

"Well shit," Jacob said, as he looked between us, "if something happens to me tomorrow, Bella, I'm putting you in charge of deleting my browsing history. So don't you dare die– I think it would give Billy a heart attack if he logged onto my computer. No joke, these past few years my taste in porn has gotten so kinky I actually shock myself sometimes."

"In that case, I definitely can't die." I said, unable to help my grin. It wavered, though, when the weight of everything pressed back on me once more. "I really feel like we're living on borrowed time right now." I admitted to them.

"Maybe," Hermione allowed, "but you can't deny that we live it well. Besides," she added with a weak smile, "we're probably worrying over nothing. There's no evidence of anything; it's just Halloween, is all."

"Nobody who attended Hogwarts over the last seven years," I pointed out, "can say the words 'just' and 'Halloween' in the same sentence." Hermione deflated with a sigh, sinking back in the armchair with a look of defeat on her face.

"I could really do with a cup of tea with honey, lemon and whiskey, hold the tea, lemon and honey, right about now too." She muttered. 


	25. Chapter 25

**CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE:**   
  


The morning of October the 31st brought with it a pair of unexpected but welcome visitors.

I woke to a familiar, chirpy voice singing out, " _good morning Bella!_ " and groaned at being dragged from my sleep, restless and shallow as it had been.

"I'll give you 'morning' but the rest is up for debate," I'd mumbled into the couch cushion before it clicked just whose voice I'd heard. "Wait– _Alice_?"

The sight of the tiny, pixie-haired vampire was one for sore eyes. It surprised absolutely no one that I burst into tears, though I blamed it (multiple times and at a not insignificant volume) on the bloody hormones.

"Well don't you look like a million dollars, darling?" Alice teased me as I wiped away the tears.

"Thanks," I said, hiccupping slightly. "It's totally the quaffle sized bruises under my eyes that accentuate their natural shade."

"Not to mention the colour all that blotchiness from crying has brought to your cheeks," Alice grinned. "Why, you're positively all rosy!"

"You're awful, why have I missed you?" I wondered aloud, laughing through the emotion swelling up inside my chest.

"I'm just that loveable," Alice assured me and I laughed again before wincing slightly as Baby bumped against my stomach; I could almost sense the curiosity of my little nudger and I supposed that the happiness I was feeling was a stark departure from my grief, fear, panic and horror of the last couple of days.

Alice's eyes widened slightly as I pushed aside the blankets so I could slide my hands under the maternity sweater and press them against the bare skin of my stomach. I realised, with a slight shock, that in the chaos of everything that was happening I'd completely forgotten that Alice had yet to actually see my pregnancy in person.

While the one time we'd spoken on the phone about it she'd definitely been on the more negative side regarding it all– and that was an understatement– her face was very soft now as she looked down at my baby bump. In fact, her expression was wistful, almost, as she examined my stomach.

"I think," she said, very, very quietly, like she was talking more to herself then me, "I would have made adorable babies. They'd have been fabulous and fashionable, bless their hypothetical little hearts, and with my brains and good looks and Jasper's–" here she paused for a moment and Jacob, from where he was eating breakfast (though it looked more like he was enthusiastically making out with Esme's cooking) in the adjacent room, visible to us through the open doorway, called out,

"Height?"

"– _strategical skills_ ," Alice spoke over Jacob, shooting him a quick glare, "they'd very quickly rule the world."

"Probably." I agreed with a smile. "Though I hope their Auntie Alice will help EJ or Esmeralda do the same."

"Ah, the names?" Alice said, looking very pleased at the 'auntie' comment.

"Esmeralda Luna for a girl," I told her, "and Edward... Edward Ch-Charles Junior for a boy."

Before, I'd wanted to give a possible son Harry Potter's name for their middle one, but Charlie having been taken had reminded me of a hero I had far closer to home. My throat felt all choked and my eyes stung, the misery returning to weigh down on me.

"I'm so sorry about Charlie," Alice said softly, a truly sorrowful look on her face that reminded me of how my father had always had a soft spot for her; it seemed that it had gone– _no_ , that it _went_ both ways.

I swallowed roughly, having to wait a moment before answering so I knew I could actually talk without my voice cracking. "Until I see a- a body, I won't give up on him." I firmly told her and anyone else that was within earshot, and Alice gave me a brilliant smile in response, squeezing my hands with her thin, snow-cold fingers.

"I won't give up hope either," she promised. "We'll get him back, Bella– I know we will."

Jasper entered the room then, the scarred, blond vampire looking hard and serious– and tired.

"Alice," he said quietly, "they're ready."

"Ready?" I asked them, abruptly afraid again. "Ready for what?" Alice nodded at Jasper before turning to me, her face just as serious as her mate's.

"We've gathered the 'war council', as I believe you're calling it," she told me. "There's a reason we came here today." I sucked in a shaky breath and nodded.

"Alright," I said, resolutely. "Help me stand up." Alice's eyebrows creased in a furrow and I gave her a stern look. "I'm pregnant, not invalid. I'm not sitting this meeting out, Alice– I want to hear what's going on."

And Alice knew better then to argue with me on that.

-

The 'war council' had gathered in the repurposed dining room. I had to waddle in, most of my weight leaning onto Alice to support me. As we entered the room, one of the vampires closest to us immediately vacated the chair they were lightly perched on– it was, to my great surprise, Irina. As Alice helped me sit down, she gave us both a very tentative smile.

"Bella... Alice," she murmured softly, before pausing.

"Irina," Alice said, her smile viciously polite, "it's certainly been a while." Belatedly, I remembered that it was Irina telling Laurent about Alice's Gift that had allowed Victoria to hide her newborn army from Alice's Sight for so long. It was entirely possible that Alice held a bigger grudge then I did. Irina's lovely face fell and she backed away as the edges of Alice's polite smile turned razor sharp in the silence that stretched out between them.

"Alice, Japser, what do you have for us?" Hermione spoke up, from where she was seated at the head of the table, flanked on either side by her Aurors. She looked every bit the general up there; powerful, poised, prepared, and above all, calmly in control.

"Athenodora is keeping any plans for when she will attack to herself," Alice told the table, grimly. "She's not even telling Alec or Maria, her second and third in command respectively, so we wouldn't have been able to give you any real advanced warning if we'd stayed."

"If you'd stayed?" I repeated, confused.

"We can't go back now– she'll know we've betrayed her," Alice explained. "And the information we have won't be good for long either, once she realises, which is why we need to act now; we know her army's numbers and location, and Athenodora's current location. And we finally managed to get our hands on one of these," she added triumphantly, nodding at Jasper who pulled from his pocket and placed on the table an ancient looking amulet of aged precious metal– bronze, I guessed. It had Greek letters etched onto the bronze and I could practically feel the magic humming off it.

"That's one of the objects spelled with strong protection charms," I realised, my eyes widening, "the ones shielding the vampires against magic!"

"Bella said that there were experts who'd be able to learn useful information if they had one of these in front of them," Alice said urgently, turning to Hermione. "Can you or your people figure out how to undo the spells?"

Hermione summoned the amulet across the table and examined it with a slight frown of concentration. She tapped her wand against it, murmuring spells under her breath I couldn't quite hear. Qiang crossed over to join her, grim-faced and hard-eyed as they both examined the talisman. I waited with baited breath for several tense minutes before the two witches looked up, trading fierce smiles and nodding at each other before Hermione turned to Alice. "We can counter these," she said, her voice confident.

"Excellent," Alice said, just as fierce and smiling with enough of her shiny, white teeth bared to cause a cascade of chills to crawl down my spine. "Then before our information becomes out-dated when Athenodora discovers Jasper and I have betrayed her, we need to act," Alice declared, fierce and firm and beautiful. "It's time to fight!"

There was a long moment where everyone looked at Hermione, who appeared deep in thought. I could feel the tension building up inside me, growing with every second that passed. And then, then Hermione looked over at Alice and nodded.

"I'll mobilise the Aurors. Jacob, Sam, prepare your packs. Carlisle, Edward, gather all the vampires who plan to fight. It's time to finish this." She ordered.

"Oh, _hells_ yes," grinned Emmett, flashing his teeth; brief, sharp and as dangerous as he was. "Let's kick their asses!"

-

After all the planning of the past few days, the call to action went smoothly. Hermione appeared in her element, strategizing with Jasper, Qiang, Jacob, Sam and two of the Aurors, organising how the attack would go. Athenodora's 'home base' was located up on the Olympic mountain range, like we'd guessed, though the news it had been hidden by a wizard was alarming.

That Athenodora actually had a wizard working for her was an alarming thought in general, actually. I couldn't understand why a wizard would choose to side with such a monster; it was Draco who I'd voiced this thought to, amidst the controlled chaos, and Draco who'd provided the most logical answer.

"Whoever it is, he's probably just as big a monster as she is." He said and I shuddered.

"I've had enough of Dark wizards to last me a lifetime," I muttered darkly and Draco huffed a weak laugh.

"Me too, Sw- _Bella_ ," he said. "Er, can I have a word?"

"Sure," I agreed, easily enough. My negativity towards Draco had all but disappeared at this point; he'd proved his commitment to Luna, had revealed his vulnerabilities, had shown me a side of him that was likeable and human, and there were just far too many real enemies out there for me to waste my time holding onto old grudges.

"Bella, we obviously don't know each other well and our relationship has mostly been...um..." Draco hesitated.

"Antagonistic with the occasional jinx, curse, name-calling, tattling to a teacher and sporadic bouts of violence?" I suggested.

"Er, well yes." Draco agreed, looking a little sheepish.

"Go on." I nodded, biting back a smile that felt inappropriate for the tense atmosphere around us.

"You're the closest thing Luna has to family," Draco said softly, "and... I want to marry her."

"Oh," I said, stunned.

"And I want to propose before we go fight. So that if anything happens to either of us today..." Draco trailed off, looking shaken to the core by the very thought. I remembered the Battle of Hogwarts, remembered wearing Edward's ring and what he'd said when he slipped it on my finger before I apparated off to fight– " _if the worse happens, I want you to be wearing it_ "– and sighed.

"Do you actually have a ring?" I asked and Draco immediately pulled one out of his pocket, holding it out to me. It was, I admitted to myself, perfect for Luna. The ring was either silver or white gold, I honestly couldn't tell the different between the two precious metals, with a band of gold vines adorned with diamonds. I looked at it for a long moment before sighing again.

"You make her happy," I told Draco as I handed the ring back to him. "Keep doing that and you'll have my blessing."

"Always," Draco promised me. And I believed him.

-

In the end, it was decided that Esme and the three youngest wolves– Seth and the two thirteen year olds, Brady Fuller and Collin Littlesea– would stay with me at the mansion. Everybody else that I knew and loved was going off to fight; even Bree and Fred had decided to join, the two quiet newborns that weren't quite newborns anymore having mostly stayed out of the way during the planning of the last few days.

Luna was wearing the ring as she hugged me goodbye. Her eyes were bright and shining and despite the solemnity of the occasion, there was a smile tugging at her mouth. "Thank you," she whispered in my ear as she wrapped her arms tight around me.

"Anytime," I whispered back, pressing a kiss to her cheek. "Stay safe, okay? Come back to me."

And then she was backing away and it was Rosalie's turn to hug me, then Qiang, Alice, Carmen, Jacob, Hermione and, finally, Edward.

I clung onto him for a very long time, my lips crushed desperately to his snow-cold ones. "If you die I'll kill you," I told him, choking the words out through my tears. "I'm not raising this baby by myself, you hear me?"

"Loud and clear," Edward murmured, cradling my face in his hands as he looked down at me with the same desperation I imagined was present on my face. "I love you, Bella. More then anything."

"Me too," I choked. "I love you, I love you–" _don't go_ , I wanted to beg him, _please don't leave me! Please just stay!_

But I didn't say it; I wasn't selfish enough to ask something like that of him, no matter how desperately I wanted to. And then before I knew it, long before I was ready, it was time. It felt like my heart was breaking as I watched Edward, Luna, Alice, Jacob, Hermione and the rest of my family leave and had to wonder just how many of them would come back.

"They'll be fine, Bella," Esme said soothingly, smiling warmly at me. I would have probably believed her more if she didn't look like she didn't even believe herself.

As I sat on my couch, feeling useless and helpless, Esme appeared determined to do something productive. She'd pulled two large sacks of flour from the cupboard, a cartoon of eggs, cocoa powder, milk, sugar and a very large mixing bowl from the pantry and as I watched she started mixing together what I guessed was a cake. The shifters would be delighted when they returned.

(If they returned.)

I thought about offering to help but my hands were shaking so violently I'd probably drop anything she tried to hand to me.

Seth, Brady and Collin were all in their wolf-forms, their large heads twitching from side to side as they followed trains of thoughts from miles and miles away. If there was ever a time that having Edward's Gift would have come in handy then this was it, I thought sourly and a little desperate. I badly wanted to know what was going on but I didn't speak canine and couldn't read minds.

I could tell the moment the fighting started; it had been nearly an hour since everyone had left when both wolves sat bolt-upright, a low growl escaping the wolf with the sandy-coloured fur I knew was Seth. The two smaller shifters, one smoky-grey and the other reddish-brown, let out low whines. By the way the sandy wolf nudged the grey one in a comforting sort of manner, I guessed that he was probably Brady, Seth's second cousin.

The heavy panting of the three wolves and their occasional jerking movements and whimpers and whines did very little to calm my nerves and I dug my fingernails into my palms, biting my lip and flinching with each new sound that escaped their muzzles.

"Do you think we're going to win?" I asked Esme, more then a little desperately. Her cake– cupcakes actually, I absently noted– were in the oven now and her beautiful face was creased with stress. She opened her mouth to reply, but it wasn't her voice that I next heard speak.

"It would not be impossible," a sweet, richly accented and undeniably vampiric voice said, "but walking into a trap does make victory... _challenging_."

Esme, the wolves and I all jerked around to face the vampire who'd managed to approach us, to enter our home, all without either the shifters or Esme catching her scent, or spotting her movements– magic had to be involved (why I'd ever expected anything to go as according to plan on fucking _Halloween_ of all days was beyond me).

The vampiress was startlingly small but utterly breathtaking; clad in loose white silk, her translucent and delicate-looking powdery-white skin was such a shocking contrast to the long hair that flowed like liquid darkness down over her chalky-pale shoulders. Her eyes, the colour of fresh spilled blood but covered by a pearl-like milky sheen, were fixed upon us with undeniable delight.

The obviously ancient vampiress before us was Athenodora, I had no doubt– and on either side of her, blank-faced and standing like sentries, were Alice and Jasper.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not a huge fan of cliffhangers, but I really couldn't resist leaving it there. I give you all permission to hate me for it XD  
> The end (of this story) is fast approaching (finally!) and I hope you've enjoyed the ride– and that you enjoyed this chapter!   
> ~Cheshire Carroll


	26. Chapter 26

**CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX:**

 

"I dislike magic more then words could possibly express," Athenodora said, her voice soft and poison-sweet, "but it is so useful, is it not?" She tapped Alice and Jasper's shoulders, her smile lovely and beatific.

"The Imperius Curse," I realised, horrified.

"Mm, close but not quite. My brother is very old; he has forgotten more magic then all of you filthy witches will ever learn." Athenodora corrected, her lip curling. "It is a far older spell, but one similar in effect." I blanched.

" _Brother_?"

"I would introduce you, but he is too busy springing that lovely little trap up on the mountain– no sorcerer there will be able to... I believe the terms are 'apparate' and 'portkey'? They will not be able to leave the battle and my army is waiting for them. Nor will any vampire, not once it had all begun."

I felt sick and terrified and my hands were shaking. Athenodora kept on smiling, delight so visible on her lovely features, and Alice and Jasper were blank-faced at her side, their expressions both sickeningly familiar from my experiences through the war and that horrible DADA class in my third year and yet so horribly, horrendously alien on their faces.

Beside me, Esme made a wretched noise, her expression nothing short of heartbroken as she stared at her children in all but biology.

"You may join me, Esme Cullen," Athenodora said, lightly. "My quarrel lies strongest with your pet witch and her mate. Join my side and you will not have to fight your coven, I give you my word."

"It would be unforgivable of me to join you and stand aside as you hurt Bella," Esme whispered, her grief displayed so freely on her face yet a fierce steel also present there. "Bella is my daughter and Alice would never be able to live with herself– or with me– if either her or Jasper were allowed to hurt her sister, nor would I be able to live with myself."

"Oh fear not," Athenodora laughed, sweet and tinkling, "for if that is your decision then not one of you will have to _live_ with such a thing. At least not for long."

"I swear, I will feed you your own teeth. Individually." I hissed through clenched teeth, meaning every word but speaking with a bravery I didn't feel in that moment. I was furious, yes, but I was more terrified then I'd ever been before in my life. I was helpless, defenceless and had no way to protect the precious life inside of me from Alice and Jasper or Athenodora herself, and that broke my heart.

Athenodora laughed again and seemed to float as she glided forwards; I'd never seen a vampire move so gracefully, not even Alice, not even Aro.

"It would be entertaining to see you try," she said with cold amusement, Alice and Jasper flanking her as she approached us. Esme immediately moved in front of me, crouched protectively, while the wolves growled low and fierce on either side.

"How dare you touch my children?" Hissed Esme, her sweet voice near-trembling with her rage. "How dare you do this to us all!"

Athenodora smiled. "Kill them." She said.

And Alice and Jasper lunged.

Seth and Collin intercepted Alice while Esme and Brody blocked Jasper. The following fight was horrific.

Despite their numbers, despite Alice's handicap of being unable to See the shifters' future, it was clear my four protectors were outclassed and Athenodora simply stood and waited, that ice-cold smile on her face as she watched my brother and sister in all but blood try to tear my friends and the mother of my heart apart.

Brody's sudden, shrill shrieks of pain had me flinch in place, my arms wrapped desperately around my stomach as bile rose up in my throat. His furred form hit the ground with a fleshy thump as Jasper threw him and he didn't get back up. Collin made a wounded, desperate sound like he was dying and Seth, for some impossible reason I couldn't comprehend, phased back to human-shaped.

He ignored his nakedness entirely as he went for the neat stacks of folded clothes left for the wolves to change into, pulling something from them. It was the height of foolishness for him to leap back into the fray of snarling, jagged teeth while still so vulnerably human, but Seth did so anyway, lunging at the blur that was Jasper and slapping his hand against the hip of the honey-blond vampire, shouting something I could hear even over the fighting as he did so– " _PORTUS!_ "

Using Portkeys didn't require magic, it was already imbued in them– it was why I'd been able to use Portkeys, even while I was pregnant. Seth speaking the activation word for one of the emergency portkeys created for Brody, Collin and himself was enough and Jasper disappeared in a dizzying blur of colour. It was Esme who took the second Portkey from Seth, dear, brave Esme who managed, with the aid of Collin and Seth, to corner a snarling, feral Alice and pin her down long enough to send her away too, out of the fight and far from Athenodora.

Trembling relief had me gasping for breath, Esme flitting to my side in a heart-beat to physically support me as I swayed in place while Seth and Collin went to Brody.

Athenodora was still and silent for a moment, watching us, before she smiled. It was not a nice smile. "I did mention how much I truly dislike magic," she said, her voice musing. "I did so dearly wish to bear witness to you having to murder your precious coven-mates or lay down your lives and be murdered in turn. A pity. Nevertheless, I have more."

"Then I'll fight them too," growled Esme, eyes flashing and teeth barred, "I will fight them and I will win!"

Athenodora laughed; high, cold and dismissive. "We shall see." She said as more vampires began spilling into the house– two more, three more, four, _five_... Seth and Collin snarled, low and threatening, while Esme wasted no such time before swiftly moving into action.

The fight erupted into action once again and it didn't take me long to realise what was happening– the newly-arrived vampires were herding my protectors away from me, herding them out of the wrecked room until there were only two of us left in there– three, including the incapacitated shifter (four, including Baby, but I couldn't think about that, I couldn't, _I couldn't_ –)

Athenodora looked at me and _smiled_.

My heart practically seized up in my chest. I tried to look at it logically; I was alone, facing against Athenodora– how the fuck could I incapacitate or kill a two-and-a-half thousand year old vampire without my magic? The answer to that was depressingly but undeniably obvious– I couldn't. But... I glanced over at the downed Brody, who twitched weakly and let out a low whine as my eyes met his. I almost gagged at the sight of him– it was.... not pretty. He wouldn't be able to fight, not in the state he was in; Brody's body was bent at an awkward shape, no blood, just angles that were all wrong. And yet, as our eyes met I sucked in a breath of realisation, remembering that Brody was not the only one capable of seeing what his eyes saw.

And while I might not be able to kill Athenodora, I _could_ stall her until someone who was able to kill her showed up– the Pack link was still active and I just desperately hoped that all those who'd been ambushed when Athenodora's trap up on the mountains was sprung were winning, and winning fast, so that help could come.

But first, distraction.

"They're all going to die out there!" I spat at Athenodora, hastily and desperately. I was furious, enraged and terrified and she was still fucking _smiling_ at me. "There might be some casualties on our side, but you're not going to win anything! What was the point of all this?" I demanded, honestly bewildered by the choices made by the ancient vampiress. "Why make an army that won't accomplish anything?"

Athenodora continued to smile, haughty and cold with hatred clear in her angelic features. "The point? There is no point! No point at all but to try and drag as many of you disgusting witches down to _burn with us_ –" she barred her teeth, red eyes like endless pools of blood, "and to get some time alone with _you_!"

The déjà vu of the situation hit me harder then the sudden blow Athenodora dealt to my abdomen that sent me flying across the room, colliding with the wall of glass with a terrible shatter. Shards of broken glass rained around me and as I gasped for breath, curled protectively around my swollen stomach, I realised with a sinking sensation of terrible enlightenment that I had been in this exact same position before– an army as a distraction, a vampiress avenging her mate, and my death the ultimate goal.

"I want you to suffer," Athenodora hissed as she stalked forwards. "In the end, it is simple as that– I want you all to suffer, for my Caius! You thought what we did to that human I left for you was bad? It is nothing compared to what I shall do to you, to the torments you will endure before I rip open your throat and bathe in your blood!"

My hands were still wrapped around my stomach and a terrified sob escaped me, torn unwillingly from my throat as my heart beat so fast it was practically tripping over itself. I could taste the iron-metallic flavour of my fear in my mouth– actually that was probably blood, but the tastes of the two were similar enough to mistaken– and adrenaline roared through my veins.

But there was nothing I could do; there was no secret magic wand I was hiding, no wild, accidental magic about to burst forth– I was defenceless and helpless and I was going to die an inhumane, drawn-out death at the bitch's hands.

And more importantly, so was my unborn child.

Desperate beyond anything before, I had already plead to Merlin, Morgana, the Old Gods of the Isle, the Fae Queen, and was about to start on the Greek Pantheon when I heard the most welcoming sound of my entire life.

Leah was the fastest of the wolves, I'd heard Jake say once– apparently, he hadn't been exaggerating. She had sprinted from the mountain range to the Cullen's mansion and, without even slowing, she burst through the shattered window, aiming straight for Athenodora's throat.

I staggered to my feet as Athenodora twirled to the side, her small fist lashing out to catch Leah in the face and sending her lunge off-course. "I am over two and a half thousand years old! Do you think you can defeat me?" The ancient vampiress demanded, snarling viciously as Leah twisted so she'd landed on her feet.

"No," Esme's voice sounded as she leapt gracefully through the shattered window, a mess of torn clothes, tangled hair and looking oddly lopsided in a way I couldn't quite figure out, as wolf-Leah hacked up a mouthful of blood then pulled her lips back in a wolf's grin, exposing her jagged, red-stained canines. "But I think we can distract you."

Athenodora snarled in fury, darting forwards, and both Leah and Esme met her lunge. Two of the vampires Esme had been fighting blurred into the room, Seth moments behind them. With their wild snarls, venom dripping from their mouths and stone-skin shattered with various body parts missing, the two were a terrifying sight while I was so defenceless.

My mind worked desperately and furiously as ragged pants tore through my lips. It was the exposed trails of venom down their chins, thin, glimmering trails running down their necks, that gave me an idea.

I tripped and stumbled my way to the kitchen, doing my best to ignore the building pain in my stomach. The flour was still sitting out on the bench where Esme had left it after her baking and, holding the bag in one hand, I tore through the pantry and cupboard drawers, desperately searching. I almost sobbed in relief when I found the pack of matches, staggering back out to the blurs of movement visible to my all-too human eyes as Esme, Leah, Athenodora and her two sycophants all fought.

Ripping open the bag of flour, I spun wildly in place, letting the fine particles spill out into the air. "Leah, Esme, Seth– get down!" I shouted, pausing only a second to give them time to listen, to obey, before striking the match and dropping to the ground.

Powders burned easily if added to a hot pan without anything else; I'd learned that the hard way while cooking. If spilled onto a direct flame, they actually ignited even– and flour? Flour could catch fire, just like anything, but unlike 'just anything' flour was a carbohydrate; when it was mixed with oxygen, the particles of it suspended in the air, and that mix of carbohydrates and oxygen were exposed to a spark or flame such as a struck match?

That's when the explosions happened.

The sudden burst of fire burned hot but fast; an explosion of heat and flame that left spots in my vision and smoke in the air. It wouldn't have been hot enough or strong enough to cause a vampire any damage, not normally, but vampire venom was one of the most flammable substances that existed– there was a reason vampires were so wary of fire, why they burned so easily and so quickly when their skin was stone; a vampire's venom was the basis of their physiology, it saturated every cell in their body and it caught fire very easily.

Athenodora ended up singed, but in one (very pissed off) piece; there was no venom exposed on her stone-skin, just contaminating every cell of her body.

The other two attacking vampires weren't nearly so lucky. They clawed at their suddenly ignited necks, jaws, mouths, both screaming wildly. I don't know if it would have killed them, but it didn't matter– Seth and Leah were well able to take advantage of their distraction and tear off their heads with ease.

It was just Athenodora now; Athenodora facing off against Esme, Leah and Seth. Her face was twisted into a vicious, hate-filled snarl and Esme, charred and lopsided Esme, crouched before me, her lips twisted into her own snarl.

" _I won't let you hurt my daughter!_ " She growled. Her golden eyes were almost glowing, backlit by the internal flames of her conviction, an expression of protective fury contorted her face, creating harsh creases in the soot that plastered her features. In that moment she was glorious. A lioness charging to battle against any who would dare to threaten her home and pride. Low and dangerous, she faced towards her enemy, caramel hair streaming behind her like a banner. The image was seared in my mind, and then she was gone, meeting Athenodora mid-lunge.

" _Goddamn_." I murmured to myself, my voice only cracking slightly. "Esme's such a BAMF."

Leah made a growling sound of agreement beside me before lunging after them, Seth at her side.

A mother's love had a strength unlike any other, and for a moment it was like I was watching Molly Weasley facing off against Bellatrix Lestrange, instead of Esme facing Athenodora. And as the fight between the two vampires rose in intensity, Leah and Seth mainly staying out of the way, I suddenly knew what would happen, what the outcome would be, before it even unfolded before me– and when Esme, gentle, sweet, kind Esme, tore off the screaming Athenodora's head, I wasn't even surprised.

She then collapsed.

And at the same time, the building pain in my stomach reached a crescendo and something inside me went _crack_.


	27. Chapter 27

**CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN:**

My breath caught. My muscles spasmed. And then I _screamed_.

Staggering back, I hit the wall and slid down it to the floor with a heavy thump as my legs stopped supporting me. The slight pain caused from hitting the ground with all my excess weight was inconsequential in the face of the vomit-inducing agony that had seized me.

Something was wrong with my baby.

The revelation was like ice, giving me clarity despite the pain that was spreading like a rush of scorching heat in my entire midsection. If I'd been able to, I'd have curled into a tiny ball and screamed. But the pain radiated up and down my body. Someone had set off a blasting curse inside my stomach. Not pain. Agony. I couldn't think of a time I'd hurt more then this. Maybe during the disastrous cross-continental apparation, but to try and compare the two torments was too much right now.

Somehow, with numb fingers, I managed to peel open my maternity blouse. I thought someone might have helped, a wet muzzle, but I wasn't quite sure. I did hear animal sounds of shock as the skin of my stomach was exposed.

Through blurry eyes, I took in the sight. My stomach was stained almost black where Athenodora's fist had hit me and though the skin was unbroken, it was distended and smeared with bruises so dark and blotchy that the flesh barely seemed human. My belly was beginning to feel weirdly bloated, different to the way the swell of Baby growing inside me felt, more like something in there was leaking.

Something probably _was_ leaking, I thought, and the numbness abruptly plunged away into something hot and desperate and wild. I jerked my head up to take in my surroundings– Esme was unresponsive, Leah crouched over her, Collin was lingering near Brody and Seth was hunched on the ground, clearly injured but still conscious. 

"Listen puppies!" I growled to them, just as fierce as any wolf, "either this baby chews its way out of my stomach, killing me in the process as it shreds my insides to pieces, or one you helps me perform a c-section with the only tool we currently have available that can cut through vampire skin!" I didn't need to clarify just what I was talking about– without Esme, their teeth were my only current option and I was about as happy about that as they were.

The wolves all gave startlingly similar panicked whines and I glared harder even as tears of pain leaked down my cheeks, choked back sobs escaping me with every gasping breath I took. "Do you think I actually want an oversized mutt biting open my stomach?" I demanded hysterically, my mouth twisting into an agonised snarl as one of Baby's feet slammed into something inside me that set of a wave of pain so bad I actually gagged, turning my head to spit up the mouthful of blood that had risen up my oesophagus. "Believe me," I gasped out, "I fucking hate this as much as you do, now one of you get your furry arses over here right now and help me get this baby out before- ARGH! FUCKING _FUCK SHIT FUCK!"_ That had definitely been a rib snapping as my baby thrashed desperately inside me.

Right. I fixed the closest wolf with the most terrifying glare I could manage through the film of tears, baring my red-stained teeth at him. By the way he looked like he wanted to pee himself, I judged it as suitably terrifying. "YOU!" I snarled. "So help me god, if you don't help me get this baby out _right fucking now_ I will punch you so hard that your nose cartilage will be creamy enough to butter my breakfast toast!"

The wolf– Collin– visibly swallowed.

" _And it will be delicious!_ " I hissed.

He yelped and stumbled forwards. I let out a shuddering sigh of relief, followed by a sound of incomprehensible agony when my broken ribs ground together as Baby continued to thrash. Collin hesitantly pressed his wet nose to the bulge of my stomach where Baby's wild, desperate movements under my skin were as obvious as they were startling.

He continued to hesitate and I was considering through the haze of pain just how hard I'd be able to hit him in this state when Seth let out a huffing sound, slamming his tail against the ground and shuffling over to us on his stomach. He was leaving behind a slick, red trail and I wasn't sure he could even stand, but his eyes were clear, not hazy from pain, and the innate healing ability of the shifters had clearly kicked in.

Collin eagerly backed away, returning to standing vigil by the unconscious Brody's side while Leah nosed Esme. I reached out with a bloodstained hand to pat Seth's sandy-furred head, uncaring of how the sticky wetness caught in his fur. Seth made a quiet, snuffling sound, wagging his tail gently as he pressed his nose to my stomach. He tilted his head slightly, looking up at me as if to ask _'ready?'_

I wasn't, I _definitely fucking_ _wasn't_ , but I nodded anyway, my eyes squeezing shut as I braced myself for more pain to come.

And it did come. And it hurt, it hurt having sharp teeth tear through my thin-fragile human skin like a knife through hot butter, then it hurt even more as they ripped through the lining of my womb, currently as diamond-hard and almost-impenetrable as vampire skin. It made a metallic screeching sound that my screams only half drowned out. My automatic response to the agony of it all kicked in then and I desperately tried to fight off the teeth, tried to kick or shove or run, but I was pinned by warm arms and soothing words as I struggled, helpless and hopeless.

And then the teeth were gone, and so was something else. I gasped hoarsely for breath as a strange and terrible feeling of hollowness washed over me. The warm arms had released their hold on me but I barely noticed that as my own icy-cold, violently trembling hands moved to cradle the bulge of my stomach... no, my _empty stomach_.

For a moment, the fear that rose up inside me was so strong and so desperate that even behind my close eyelids my whole world whited out to a haze of panic. And then I heard it, the thin, reedy wail of a newborn shocked and indignant to find itself out of its protected isolation, and my lips curved into a trembling smile before I gave in to the weakness spreading through me.

Dying– _for what else could this be?_ _–_ felt so terribly strange. It felt like all of my senses became hyper aware of the activity going on inside of me. My whole scalp seemed to be covered in ice, so cold it numbed my head down to the base of my neck. My heartbeat felt staggered and slow. Different muscles twitched from stabs of pain. A dull throbbing pulsed from my chest, my splintered ribcage. Air came and left my lungs in forced, haggard breaths. Slowly I could feel everything slowly begin to stop working, the low pulsating thrum in my ears marking the time...

_slipping..._

_away..._

_..._

I woke to the taste of pepper-up potion.

The disgustingly familiar sensation of my bones and flesh knitting back together as Qiang's healing potions set to work made me want to gag and a watery cough rattled through me, filling my mouth with the taste of bile and hot wet-rust. I hurt, I hurt _everywhere_ and I hurt _badly,_ but it was a manageable sort of pain– at least in comparison to _before_.

Forcing my eyes open, I blinked blearily at the naked young teenager leaning over me, holding an empty potions phial in each hand– Seth had found Qiang's med-kit, I realised, taking in the sight and the discarded empty phials spilled out around him; he'd found the potions and he'd just saved my life. _Again_.

Still... "Your penis is giving me a fist bump." I mumbled through a mouthful of what I was pretty sure was my own blood.

"Ohmygod, Bella, you're _alive_!" Seth exclaimed in clear relief. Then my words seemed to register and he frantically shoved himself backwards, both his hands going to his groin to cover up his happy stick. I could only laugh, the sound near-hysterical, before glancing weakly around the utterly destroyed, blood-soaked, smoke-stained, ash-coated room, seeking out the new life ripped from my womb too early.

It was surprisingly easy to spot my newborn in the wreckage. Leah was cradling my baby to her chest, a stunned, enraptured look on her face as she stared down at the tiny, swaddled form she was holding so delicately. "Leah?" I asked, my voice hoarse from all the screaming. Leah turned to me and I sucked in a shocked breath when I saw the intensity of the emotions on her face, in her eyes. She didn't even need to say anything for me to realise, or Seth beside me.

"Leah!" He croaked, stunned.

"Oh," I breathed, a tremulous smile forming on my face. "I'm so glad."

And I was. We weren't all out of danger yet and my baby had just snagged themselves the most dedicated protector in the world.

"Come over, please... I want to see my baby's face," I pleaded. Leah seemed to stumble more then walk, so great was her shock, and while she didn't try to actually hand my baby to me, my arms were currently so weak I wasn't sure I could support even such a tiny weight anyway.

Instead, I reached out to gently touch my fingertips to the tiny, perfect rosy cheek. My baby was matted with blood and afterbirth, but still so painfully perfect. So, so beautiful, with soft light-bronze hair, porcelain skin, chocolate-brown irises and the most cherubic little face I'd ever seen. My breath caught in my throat, twisting up in my chest as petal-pink lips parted softly in an 'o' of what almost seemed to be surprise, those beautiful chocolate-brown eyes focusing on me with the sort of intent that wasn't natural in newborns but I couldn't care less about.

Nor did I give a fuck about the perfectly formed set of pearly-white teeth visible behind those pink lips.

"Boy or girl?" I whispered, choked up and overwhelmed with so much love for this tiny, perfect, shining little angel before me. My baby was beautiful enough to be either, yet somehow I wasn't really surprised when Leah managed to choke out,

"Boy."

"A boy..." I breathed out, fierce, fierce love swelling and eddying inside me, larger and more powerful then all the oceans, so immense and momentous that I briefly wondered how it was possible for it to stay contained by my thin, fragile skin. "A son... _my_ _son_."

His skin was so silky-soft under my touch, as warm as the wolves. Tears welled in my eyes, blinding me momentarily. "My EJ," I choked out, "my Edward Charles Junior."

I'd started crying again, I wasn't sure when, but then familiar, ice-cold fingers were brushing away the tears, familiar arms pulling me into a desperate embrace.

"Bella-Bella- _Bella_ –" Edward was almost sobbing too as he held me to him. It struck me, almost idly, that with his mind-reading ability Edward would have been able to witness through the Pack's mind-link everything that had been happening here to me, while he was still so far from my side. "I couldn't get here," he choked out, as if reading my mind, burying his face into the curve of my neck like he wasn't a vampire and I wasn't soaked with blood. "I was being targeted, every time I defeated one vampire another two would attack, and _I couldn't get here to you_!" 

"It's okay," I soothed, lifting a hand to stroke his hair, the bronze several shades darker then EJ's, I realised absently. My head felt like it was full of cotton; concentrating was hard, my thoughts spinning off on random tangents when I tried, but the love inside me was as focused and all-encompassing as ever. "I'm safe, EJ's safe– it's going to be okay."

"EJ," whispered Edward, lifting his head from my neck and turning slightly, keeping me tucked safely against his side, to face our son.

Leah was still holding him, still cradling him protectively to her chest. "Ah," Edward murmured, and Leah gave him a defensive look, her shoulders tensing up, but Edward shook his head. "How could I possibly be upset, when it is thanks to you they are both still alive?" He answered some thought she hadn't spoken. The tense line of Leah's shoulders relaxed and she finally extended her arms out, offering Edward his son.

Edward gently lifted EJ from Leah's arms, holding the infant as carefully and delicately as if he were a bubble of soap, staring down at our son like... well, there were no words that could truly describe his expression in that moment. I pressed my cheek to Edward's chest, looking adoringly at the perfect sight of our baby cradled in his arms and idly considered finding a shirt to cover my bare breasts.

Absently, I wrinkled my nose as an odd taste hit the back of my throat; cloying and tingling? almost. Heavy. Uncomfortable. And then, impossibly, Edward _dropped our son_.

It was only through a burst of speed and with reflexes I didn't even know I possessed that I managed to grab onto EJ, catching his small body before he hit the floor. Shocked speechless, I turned my wide, accusing eyes towards Edward, only to freeze in place as I looked at him, a trickle of terrible foreboding starting to build in my gut.

Edward's eyes were blank, his arms limp and still at his sides. He stood like a statue before me, frozen in place and clearly not registering anything. And, as I turned in a horrified circle, it became horrifyingly clear that everyone in the room was the same– unresponsive statues, still and silent and empty-eyed where they were standing, sitting or lying.

" _What the fuck_?" I breathed in horror, glancing down at EJ, and it felt like my heart almost stopped beating– my baby's eyes were just as clouded and unresponsive as everyone else's, unmoving and failing to track me at all. I thought I was going to be violently sick and catching sight of a small movement out of the corner of my eye, I spun towards it, desperately hoping it was someone coming to help.

It wasn't. It _definitely_ wasn't. It was so, so much worse then that.

Because standing by the broken window was a vampire I'd only seen once before, back in Volterra when Jane had led Edward, Alice and I to go visit the 'Kings'.

Alec, the second of the Volturi's 'witch-twins', looked unhappy– actually, no; that was an understatement. He looked as if someone had shot his puppy in front of him, squeezed the blood out of it, let it rain over his face and then did the salsa over its grave.

Yes, he looked that unhappy– and he was currently gripping my previously-missing but somehow very much _alive_ , though currently panicking, father by the throat.


	28. Chapter 28

**CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT:**

 

In the split-second it took me to observe what I was seeing, my world came to a sudden, crashing halt.

I thought I’d known fear, paralysing and all-consuming. I thought I’d known anguish, hopeless and gut-wrenching. I thought I’d known blinding terror, of how it felt when my entire world was threatening to be destroyed before my eyes.

I was wrong.

I’d never been _more_ wrong.

I could take every other moment in my life where I’d felt pain, felt panic, felt like my world was ending, and then combine them together yet it still wouldn’t come close to what I was feeling right now, staring helplessly at the vampire before me, my infant son clutched desperately to my heart.

Because this terrible, terrible fear, it wasn’t for me; it was for the fragile new life I held in my arms, the son who meant more to me then life itself.

I’d only known EJ for a scant few minutes, had held him in my arms just once, but the love I felt for him was more all-consuming, more all-encompassing, then any other love I’d ever known. It was a love unlike any other; not the love for my husband, for my friends, for my family. It was an awakening, a brand new awareness deep inside me; it was the powerful knowledge that I would do anything, would sacrifice anyone, just to save my son.

I finally understood, _truly_ understood, what my father had meant, after I’d confessed to sacrificing myself in Renée’s place that time with James, the tracker vampire. He’d said that for a parent, surviving and knowing that their child was dead in their place would be a fate worse then death. He was right. I would gladly die a thousand deaths so that EJ could live.

Charlie… Charlie looked awful. Only upright thanks to Alec’s grip on his throat, my father’s movements were slow, weak— and he was far too pale. He was alive and still human, but he was _hurt_ , and badly hurt at that. Livid bruising wrapped cruel fingers around his limbs, visual evidence of vampire-strength having been used carelessly to drag him around. Dried blood and dirt matted his hair and his bare skin, the latter split apart in far too many places with long rents that were still sluggishly bleeding. His flannel shirt had been ripped into strips, presumably by him, and used as bandages for what I presumed were the worst of his wounds, yet blood had still seeped through the material, staining them dark and oozing outward.

Alec was the one who broke the thick, oppressive silence that had settled over the room.

“Isabella Swan,” he said, lip twisted in derision. “Considering everything you started, everything that happened in your name, you certainly don’t look like much, do you?”

“What are you doing with my dad?” I demanded, ignoring the taunt. I didn’t care what he thought I looked like, or what he thought I was worth, I cared about _what the fuck_ he was doing to _my_ _father_.

“Consider this my insurance,” Alec told me, not even glancing down at Charlie. Like my dad wasn’t even _worth_ looking at, like he was _nothing_. “I know you witches have all your nasty spells, but if you try reaching for that magic stick of yours then I’ll snap the human’s neck— he’ll be dead before you can hit me with any magic.”

For a moment I was confused (and sickened), then it hit me— Alec didn’t realise my pregnancy had made me unable use my magic. He thought I could just pull out my wand and set him on fire, like I so desperately wanted to. Holding EJ’s limp little body to my chest, I wondered how long I could continue the bluff and keep Alec from going for the kill.

“Where is Athenodora?” Alec asked suddenly, his bloody-crimson eyes flicking around, as if he was expecting her to jump out from behind the splintered furniture.

“Dead.” I said shortly.

“Pity.” He replied, not looking at all sorry to hear about her demise. “Her brother won’t be happy to hear that.”

“Well I hope he kills you all!” I spat, my anger flaring up so suddenly and ferociously it managed to pierce the thick shroud of my fear. “I hope he _burns_ you until you’re all _nothing_ but forgotten dust— just like that _bitch_ sister of yours!”

Alec pulled his lips back, an expression of pure hatred on his angelic face as he bared his sharp teeth and snarling viciously at me before visibly restraining himself. “I’ve got a deal for you, _witch_ ,” he said savagely, while apparently doing his best to kill me with his glare alone. “You for _this_ ,” he shook Charlie, who gagged and spluttered in his grip. “Snap your stupid, little magic stick and throw it away, then I’ll let him go.” His mouth pulled into a caricature of a smile, the sharp twist of his lips nasty. “Or I’ll snap his neck. This is your one chance.”

My wand was somewhere over by the destroyed couch, having been kept in one of the drawers of the coffee table beside it for most of the last stretch of my pregnancy, but even if I did have it, even if it was at all useful to me right now and not just some glorified stick, I knew I would have given Alec the same horrible answer I had to give him now.

( _“For a parent, surviving and knowing your child is dead in your place would be a fate worse then death,”_ Charlie had told me. I had to believe this would be the choice he would want me to make.)

 _I’m so sorry dad_ , I thought, before looking Alec square in the eye. “No.” I told him, almost able to hear the sound of my heart breaking as I did so.

“No?” Alec snarled, clearly not having expected my response. “ _No?_ Do you think I’m bluffing? That I’m too afraid to lose my insurance?”

“No, I don’t think your bluffing,” I said, my voice threatening to crack as I met his fierce glare with one of my own. “But I won’t do it. I won’t make that trade.”

Alec smiled then, the twisted curve of his mouth an ugly, ugly mar on the beautiful faux-child’s face. “Then this is on you.”

There was a startlingly loud sound, a wet sort of _crunch_ , and then Alec just… _dropped_ my father. Just discarded him, like trash, leaving me to stare in horror at the twisted angle of my dad’s neck. In that moment, I felt like I’d just shattered into a million pieces. My mind couldn’t quite comprehend what I’d just witnessed, yet my heart knew exactly what had just happened.

Everything felt frozen, in the very worst of ways; my head was spinning, the world was spinning, my lungs were clamped with tight, burning bands of iron that refused to loosen enough to let me draw a breath.

“I’m going to make you wish you’d burned with Volterra,” I barely recognised my own voice, only the white-hot fury in it. I didn’t even notice how the broken furniture around the room had started to rattle, the thousands of glass shards from the shattered window tinkling as an invisible wind shook through the room.

“Stop that!” Alec hissed, glancing around in alarm.

That’s me? I wondered, before— _oh_. The familiar feel of my magic welling up inside me, spilling out through my veins and flowing through every single inch of me, back where it belonged, was _thrilling_ , it was _glorious_ and _breathtaking_ and— and completely _useless_ to me, not when my wand was still so far away.

And, if the way Alec was starting to coil his body into a crouch was any indication, I was out of time.

“You know what?” He spat, eyes wild and feral and centuries past any reasoning, “I think I prefer it like this, anyway— just the two of us, alone; let’s see how well the Cullen’s pet witch goes up against _me_ , the prized witch twin of the Volturi!”

“Except there’s just one problem with that,” a sweet, airy voice interjected. “Bella’s not alone.”

I automatically jerked my head over to the new ( _familiarfamiliarthankgodfamiliar_ ) voice, not realising what a mistake it was to break eye contact with Alec until too late and he’d already taken advantage of my distraction to lunge.

I didn’t have time to react, but that didn’t matter— Luna, and the back-up she’d brought, did; Hermione had apparated in front of me, a shield charm already in place, before I’d even completed my step backwards. Alec collided against the shield with an almighty _crash_ that caused the spell to flare so brightly I was left blinking spots out of my vision.

A moment later, the three spells that Luna, Qiang and Draco had sent Alec’s way met their target and from where Alec had been standing, a brilliant pillar of flames shot up high enough to scorch the ceiling. Alec didn’t even have time to scream, but that didn’t matter— none of it mattered except that he was gone and I could turn my attention to the price that had been paid for his vendetta.

“Dad!” I sobbed, stumbling forwards and dropping to my knees beside where my father was limp on the ground. “Dad!”

Qiang’s sudden cry of realisation was as horrible as it was gut-wrenching. “ _Charlie_!”

Around us, everyone who had been frozen by Alec’s Gift was stirring back to life but I only paid enough attention to be sure it was Edward who was gently lifting EJ from my arms before focusing back on my father. My hands free, I grabbed onto Charlie’s arm, tears streaming freely down my face. “Dad—dad—daddy, please don’t be dead!” I begged, my pleas useless yet I couldn’t bear to acknowledge the glaring truth laid out corpse-still and not breathing before me.

“Charlie!” Qiang dropped to her knees too, her face a pale mask of horror. “ _Episkey_!” She said fiercely, _desperately_ , pointing her wand at the wrong angle of his neck. The bone healed with a loud _crack_ -ing sound, but Charlie didn’t react— he stayed still, silent. Unmoving. (Not breathing.)

“Edward—“ Qiang turned to Edward, her eyes fierce and almost frighteningly focused, “you have to bite him,” she demanded, an order not a request, “Do it! Now!”

Edward, to his credit, didn’t hesitate a second, immediately passing EJ to Leah before joining Qiang and I on the ground, beside Charlie. I only briefly saw him sinking his teeth into Charlie’s wrist before Qiang was turning her fierce eyes towards me. “Start chest compressions!” She ordered. “We need to get his heart beating so the venom will spread— the brain damage doesn’t matter, the venom will fix that, we just need to get his heart beating!”

My hands shook as I clumsily tried to copy what I’d only ever seen on television before. I was relieved when a second pair of hands pushed mine aside, Hermione taking over for me while Qiang bent over Charlie’s face and started mouth-to-mouth.

Several tense minutes passed, with no change in Charlie’s status. Qiang jerked back suddenly.

“Who here knows mouth-to-mouth well enough to take over for me?” She demanded.

“Mom’s a nurse, she taught me and Leah CPR after dad’s first heart-attack,” Seth offered nervously.

“And I did an actual course at the hospital, after,” Leah said, handing EJ to her brother and moving over to Qiang’s side. “I can do it.” She promised, before smoothly taking over from the Chinese witch. Qiang shifted slightly, just down enough that she could push away Hermione’s hands, still doing chest compressions, with a sharp move and press her wand tip to Charlie’s chest.

I didn’t recognise the spell she used, but I watched in horror as Charlie’s skin split neatly open under the tip of her wand as she carved an eight inch long incision down his chest, cutting straight through the breast-bone and exposing part of his goddamn _heart_.

“Why the hell did you do that?” I demanded, my voice rising shrilly in panic.

Qiang ignored me, focused on her task as she pushed the tip of her wand directly _into_ the incision she’d made, right so the point of it was pressed right against the exposed— and far too still— heart muscle. “ _Crucio_!”

“ _What the fuck are you_ — _!_ ”

Hermione and Luna both had to grab me as I tried to lunge at Qiang, abruptly furious as well as grief-stricken.

“Wait!” Hermione exclaimed, “Bella, _wait_ — I’ve read about this! The Cruciatus Curse, it isn’t an illusion of pain, it’s _real_ pain; the curse stimulates the body, it fires nerves, sets off electrical impulses and causes muscle contractions, and while this _usually_ results in unthinkable agony as the body’s systems turn against it and everything sends out all the wrong messages to the brain, Qiang just cast it directly onto his heart— look, Bella! _Watch_!”

Most of what Hermione was saying went straight over my head in my distressed state, but I did hear her urge me to look, to watch, so I did, turning my attention from Qiang to my father— specifically, the gory mess that was his chest. I sucked in a shocked breath, hope flaring up inside me as I immediately saw what Hermione had spotted— Charlie’s heart was moving.

I immediately stopped fighting, going limp in Hermione and Luna’s tight grip as I watched the weak contractions of my father’s heart under the curse.

“Here,” Edward said, suddenly. I hadn’t even noticed he’d disappeared until he’d returned just now, holding in his hands a syringe*. “This was for Bella,” he explained quickly, “it was for a worst case scenario, if giving birth went fatally wrong.”

“Is that vampire venom?” I asked, shocked.

“Ready to be injected directly into the heart,” Edward confirmed, before doing just that.

It felt like the whole room was holding its breath, then—

“There!” Edward said triumphantly, his ears hearing what none of ours could. “That’s it! That’s the venom taking effect, the heart is speeding up— stop the spell,” he urged Qiang, “you don’t need it now, stop and see.”

And he was right. When Qiang lowered her wand and Charlie’s heart kept beating, I burst into tears once again. Qiang shuddered, pressing a wet, red hand over her eyes and bowing her head forwards so her face was hidden. Her shoulders shook with her silent tears, and her free hand clung desperately to Charlie’s limp, still one.

Leah pulled back then, straightening up and I moved my teary gaze up to see Charlie _breathe_.

“He’s going to make it,” Edward said, a brilliant smile on his face. “Bella, he’s going to make it!”

Charlie was entirely non-responsive laying there on the ground, but I remembered what Qiang had said about the vampire venom healing the brain damage, from the time his brain had spent starved of oxygen. He’d be a vampire, yes, but he’d be _alive_.

“Esme will be fine too,” Luna piped up and I looked towards her voice, to where she was crouched beside the still-unconscious vampire who’d killed Athenodora and saved my life. The caramel-haired vampire who was a mother to me and who I’d forgotten about entirely in the chaos of the birth and Alec and Charlie, yet couldn’t feel any guilt about doing so, not now, not when she would be fine, and so would Charlie and so was my EJ. “She’ll need a blood donation or two— or four or five— but she’ll be fine.” Luna added, looking up with a sweet smile for the room.

“Oh thank God,” Edward murmured quietly, giving Luna a look of deep thankfulness.

“I’m sorry it took us so long to realise something was wrong,” Luna apologized as she carefully lifted Esme’s upper body slightly so she could rest her head on her lap.

“How did you even get here in the first place?” I asked, remembering what Athenodora had told me about the trap she’d arranged up on the mountain. “And Edward, how did he get here? And Leah?”

“The wards Herpo set up to contain the witches, wizards and vampires didn’t work against the shifters,” Hermione explained before wincing, grief flickering briefly across her face. “It was… well, the trap was a bloodbath.” She said quietly. “Leah barely managed to get away, to go help you— none of the other wolves could, though they certainly tried.”

“Hermione took on Herpo herself,” Luna continued the explanation. “She defeated him in a duel then Draco used Legilimency on him to figure out how to take down the wards.” Startled, I glanced over at Hermione and then Draco (standing beside Luna, of course) hugely impressed with both of them.

Draco flushed slightly, his pale cheeks going pink. “I thought that at least something Aunt Bellatrix taught me should be put towards something good,” he mumbled and Luna smiled softly up at him, reaching with out with her hand not currently stroking Esme’s hair to hold his, entwining their fingers together. Both their expressions were so gentle and loving it brought a lump to my throat.

“Athenodora said Herpo was her brother,” I remembered suddenly, “is that true?”

“Yes, Herpo— or rather, Herpo the Foul, is a two and a half thousand year old Ancient Greek wizard who’s managed to stay alive thanks to his horcrux,” Hermione answered me, her face going very cold and dangerous. “He was the first wizard to ever create a horcrux; he’s responsible for the invention of the disgusting process that allowed Voldemort to cheat death and go on to slaughter thousands of magicals, beings and muggles alike.”

“But… if Herpo’s immortal, and we can’t find the horcrux to destroy it, what can we do with him?” I asked, alarmed and downright nauseous at the idea of this not all being over, that there could still be a threat out there lurking. Hermione’s sudden smile was as surprising as it was viciously pleased.

“Oh he’ll live,” she said, a dark satisfaction evident in her voice, “we don’t have any option there, not when killing him would just mean he’d temporarily end up as a wraith, like how Voldemort spent nearly a decade and a half. He’ll be given a life sentence to Azkaban— but first we’re going to take a short side-trip to where the dementors are being kept, which is classified I’m afraid, so that they can give him a little Kiss. Herpo will get to spend the rest of his eternity rotting as a soulless husk in a cell in Azkaban— it will show witches and wizards across the world just what the cost of immortality through a disgusting magic like _horcruxes_ is.”

Hermione was terrifying. Utterly, undeniably terrifying.

“When you run for Minister of Magic,” I told her, not doubting for a moment that she would (and that when she did, she would revolutionise _everything_ on a global scale), “I’m voting for you.”

At that, Hermione’s terrifying smile turned into something much warmer, kinder. A smile that suited her face far more, I thought. “Thank you,” She said warmly, before picking back up the original, interrupted explanation from where it had been left off.

“By the time we’d dismantled the wards with the information Draco was able to give us, the shifters passed on that Athenodora was already dead and that you’d survived the birth,” she explained. “Our fight against the army was still going, however, and we were needed so I created a portkey to send Edward back to the house, to you, while we stayed. It took a while for us to be alerted that something had gone wrong— it turns out that Alec’s Gift feels a lot like unconsciousness through the shifters’ pack-link, and it wasn’t until the battle had slowed down that Jacob realised something about the sudden silence was off. By then, we could be spared so Luna, Qiang, Draco and I apparated straight here.”

“And just in time too,” I shuddered, thinking of that terrible moment where my bluff had run out and I was certain that I was about to die and leave my baby defenceless to Alec’s craving for revenge.

Thinking of EJ made me glance around automatically for him, my heart speeding up a little with anxiety until I spotted him— he was in Leah’s arms, once again. She noticed me looking and didn’t hesitate for a moment to carefully pass him over, right into the cradle of my arms. Peace blossomed inside me as EJ blinked up at me with bright chocolate-brown eyes. His itty bitty hand reached up and I let his tiny little fingers curl around one of mine.

“Um, guys?” Seth piped up suddenly. “Someone should probably go rescue Alice and Jasper from wherever those portkeys dropped them off— they’re probably seriously freaking out right now.”

“Also Bella should probably put something on,” Luna added. I blinked, looking down and remembering that _holy_ _shit_ , that’s right, I wasn’t wearing a shirt or bra— and I hadn’t been since the maternity blouse Rosalie had dressed me in that morning had been shredded to pieces thanks to both Athenodora and the general rush to get EJ out of my belly.

I was mortified for exactly zero point two seconds and then all I could do was just laugh and laugh, more tears welling up in my eyes as I leaned back against Edward, whose cool arms wrapped securely around me, his icy lips pressing against the top of my head.

I didn’t know if there had been casualties amongst those who’d been battling the vampire army, the realist in me far too aware that not everyone who’d gone there to fight could have survived, but right now, in this moment and for the first time in what felt like an eternity, I felt safe.

The tears would come later. For now, I would celebrate those who’d lived.

 

 

***The syringe thing is actually completely canon in Breaking Dawn**


	29. Chapter 29

**CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE:**

 

Over half of the Auror squad had been killed when the trap up on the mountains was sprung. Three of the wolves had lost their lives, including Brody at the hands of the mind-controlled Jasper. Both Carmen and Eleazar had also died fighting the vampire army— the Denali sisters were distraught.

It was a difficult time, one filled with broken hearts and a terrible, overwhelming grief, but as the passing days eased forwards into weeks, we all found small things to celebrate.

Apparently Irina had finally found her mate in one of the wizards who'd answered Hermione's emergency call for help. I didn't know much about Charlie Weasley, but the fact he worked with dragons gave me hope that he'd accept a vampire as a soul-mate— after all, in that sort of line of work you had to have a thing for danger.

Kate had also found her mate during the battle, in one of the vampires who'd been fighting on Athenodora's side. Garrett had immediately defected from the army, however, and he seemed good for Kate, who was grieving for her lost coven-mates.

Draco and Luna were starting to plan their wedding, not seeing the point in a long engagement— and the fact that I saw that as a positive thing really showed just how far we'd all come. They were aiming for a Spring wedding and she'd already asked me to be the maid— or matron, technically— of honour. EJ was going to be the ring bearer.

EJ was... he was my perfect angel, doted upon by all who met him— vampires, muggles, shifters, witches and wizards alike. He was so sweet and gentle, so curious and inquisitive, so wonderfully in love with life itself. He grew quickly, as research had shown vampire-hybrids did, and it wasn't long before he was talking, then walking. He loved to learn to play the piano with Edward, sitting on his daddy's lap so he could reach the keys, and to sit and read with me, his favourite book the one his Auntie Hermione had given him— ' _Tales of Beedle the Bard_ '. His diet mostly consisted of blood bags purchased through not-so legal means and blood pops, though he did love ice-cream, cheeseburgers and Esme's chocolate cake.

Edward and I had named Esme as EJ's godmother— how could we not?— and, after some discussion, it was a surprised Seth who we'd asked to be his godfather. I wasn't sure why he was so shocked— he'd delivered EJ, after all, and had been willing to die for our son against Athenodora and the mind-controlled Alice and Jasper.

Leah imprinting on EJ was still a shock, I'd easily admit, but I knew that in her, my son had found himself a sister, a best friend, a stalwart protector and eventually, perhaps, a partner for him to spend the rest of his life with.

My father was loving being a grandfather. He'd very quickly proved himself to be a surprisingly well-adjusted newborn vampire— and the fact that Qiang was his soul-mate had surprised exactly no one. His control was extraordinary and it only took a fortnight (and a near-miss while hunting where he'd accidentally crossed paths with two stray hikers but managed to hold his breath and run away, astounding everyone who heard about it) for me to feel comfortable and confident enough to let him hold his grandson for the first time.

But for all the happiness, the unavoidable truth was that life could never be the same after what had happened to us. We'd all lost someone and some injuries had proven permanent.

Esme's lovely face would always be charred over her right cheek and jawline, her caramel tresses would never regrow from their new length, just barely reaching her ears, and her newly favoured styles of long sleeved blouses paired with sleek, designer gloves hid the fact that her entire right arm was formed of a shining silver metal, the magical version of a prosthetic that acted for all intents and purposes, exactly as a normal, flesh and blood (or white marble-like) hand would. Her own arm had been torn off in the fight and mangled too badly to fix back onto her.

Jasper was haunted by the death he'd dealt under Athenodora's control, the death of thirteen-year-old Brody weighing heavily on his tortured conscience, but Alice refused to just let him drown in his guilt, horror and self-hatred. She allowed him to grieve, but not to lose himself in that grief. It helped, I thought, that the shifters didn't blame him. Nothing would make the loss of Brody easier for those who'd loved him, or the one who'd been forced to take his life, but it was still a balm on the wound to know that the ones truly responsible had paid for what they'd done.

Jacob had been left with a permanent limp from where a vampire had literally torn out a handful of his muscle and tendons that even his accelerated healing couldn't quite regrow, affecting him in both human and wolf form. Not even Qiang had been able to do much, other then to ensure he'd experience the least amount of pain from the injury.

And my father being Turned into a _fucking vampire_ was about as permanent as permanent got.

But we were alive and we were safe and we all had people to hold and love and mourn with in this difficult time— that's what I held onto.

And as the weeks following the battle turned to months, I found myself once again _happy_. Luna and Draco married in Angela's father's Church, Draco in traditional dress-robes and Luna in a flowing, starburst-embellished gown of ethereal white with a sparkling silver necklace and a crown of delicate silver stars *****.

Narcissa had attended the wedding and looked permanently uncomfortable in the muggle surroundings, but she was polite to all the attendees, muggle, vampire and magicals alike, and quickly fell into a deep conversation with Hermione about politics during the reception, which Luna had chosen to have out in a decorated forest clearing (Alice had had an absolute ball setting it up).

Draco's best man was an old Slytherin classmate of his, Blaise Zabini. Zabini was a remarkably handsome wizard with deep brown skin and hair a shade of black so dark that it seemed to soak in the light. His eyes, a jewel-bright blue, were a striking contrast to his dark complexion. As maid– _matron_ – of honour, I'd been walked by Zabini down the aisle and he'd managed to not sneer even once about touching a "mudblood", though he'd looked about as at ease as Narcissa did.

Not long after the wedding, we finally left Forks. The Cullens, myself now included, all moved to Alaska, near where the Denalis lived. Leah had moved with us, though she was the only one of the wolves to do so. She lived on campus at the local university, which was a short drive from my new house.

Edward, EJ and I had decided to live separately from Esme, Carlisle and Bree and moved into our own place, with Rose and Emmett, Alice and Jasper and Luna and Draco choosing to do likewise. After the past several years, we all needed to spend some time with our partners, loving them and being with them. I planned to attend university or start a magical apprenticeship when EJ was older, but wanted to stay home with him through his (too short) childhood.

My father, who'd had to resign as police chief for understandable reasons, had moved in with Qiang– his new vampire memory had allowed him to quickly learn Mandarin, so he seemed to have very little trouble settling into a new, non-English speaking country.

My life had settled into a new routine, a happy one that I would have been content with— and then a knock on my front door while Edward was out with EJ and Leah, taking our son on his first proper hunting trip in the woods, changed everything.

It had been almost six months since the Battle of Hogwarts and over five and a half months since the last time I'd seen Severus Snape, the wizard whose life I'd accidentally saved, though at the time I'd hoped he'd be fed to Dementors or spend the remaining years of his life rotting in Azkaban. And then he'd been proven sort-of, mostly innocent— a fact kept hidden from the magical public— along with his survival.

He'd been given a new identity and was relocated out of Britain, to somewhere only a handful of people had the knowledge of— myself certainly not included. It was therefore quite understandable that I'd never expected to see Snape again, let alone for him to knock on my door in bloody _Alaska_ of all places.

"A true Slytherin does not leave debts unpaid." My old Potions and DADA professor said stiffly, not even saying hello and looking very out of place standing in my doorway in his traditional, formal black robes. I very carefully did not look at the thick, knotted scars over his throat. "And I owe a debt to you and to those... vampires."

I mentally awarded Snape five points for Slytherin for managing to say that out loud without a sneer or grimace, the usual reactions of witches and wizards when faced with a vampire or— Merlin forbid!— vampire _s_ , let alone having to admit they'd aided in saving his sorry hide.

I wasn't sure how exactly I was supposed to respond to his statement, but thankfully he didn't appear to be expecting a response. Instead, Snape pulled a pressed velvet pouch from his robes and from within it he carefully retrieved a stoppered phial that he held out for me to take. I did, peering down at it in confusion. The potion wasn't one I recognised, a thick-looking liquid coloured a deep red that was darker then blood, almost black.

"This is a cure." Snape said, briskly. "For your vampires."

I blinked, unable to actually process what he'd just said.

"What?" I said dumbly, then winced automatically in preparation for a snapped ' _five points from Ravenclaw!_ ' before remembering, _oh_.

"It's a cure for the vampiric condition." Snape repeated. "It reverses them from their vampiric state, back to human. The process isn't dissimilar to how after being frozen, someone can have their heart restarted and avoid brain death, even hours after clinical death. The vampiric condition affects a human body on a mainly cellular level and the cure does the same, with a high focus on the muggle treatment 'reperfusion'– each cell in the human body has a tight outer membrane that serves to separate its own contents from its surroundings and filter out the molecules that are nonessential to its function or survival. As a cell nears the end of its life, this protective barrier will begin to weaken and, depending on the circumstances of a cell's death..." Snape abruptly stopped explaining as he finally took a moment to notice the look of complete and utter lack of comprehension on my face.

Biology had always been my utmost _least_ favourite subject.

He sighed, a sound of definite annoyance. It was much more like how I remembered him from my Hogwarts years, which was honestly a relief. He was being too nice– it made my skin twitch.

"To put it in very, _very_ basic terms, this potion reanimates the frozen, crystallised cells of a vampire," he told me slowly. "Of course, that is an incredibly simplistic explanation that contains nothing of the reperfusion injury phenomenon and subsequent prevention, or metabolic inflammation and—" he stopped himself again before going into more detail and held the potions out to me.

"I've tested it on four separate vampires, with permission from the Ministry of Magic of the country I'm living in." He said bluntly. "After consuming the potion, they existed in a state of limbo for roughly seventy to seventy six hours, with their hearts not starting to beat again until moments before the reversal was completed. It was reported to be an uncomfortable process, but less so then actually Turning into a vampire and they are all now in perfect health, with their bodies at the identical age they physically appeared to be as a vampire and all the tests since showing that they are ageing at a normal rate. Now take the pouch, Miss Swan."

I accepted the pouch, not bothering to correct him on my married name, and tried not to hyperventilate. This... this changed everything. _Everything_. It... it was honestly beyond what I could currently process.

"I didn't know a cure existed," I said dizzily, remembering countless hours spent pouring over books about vampires. Snape gave me a look that I remembered far too vividly from his class- it was the ' _I cannot believe you have actually survived this long being as dunderheaded as you are_ ' look.

"There wasn't a cure, Miss Swan," he said, slowly, "I created it."

"You created it." I repeated. Snape appeared to be gritting his teeth in his effort not to scowl.

"There is a reason why I'm the youngest potions master ever recorded. And as I said, a Slytherin doesn't leave a debt unpaid."

"Just in case someone tries to call them in on their debt in a way that's detrimental to the Slytherin." I said without thinking, before blushing, half expecting to hear ' _Swan! That's fifteen points from Ravenclaw and detention!_ ' I was ridiculously relieved when Snape actually just looked somewhat amused.

"Very astute of you, Miss Swan. Now, I have given you a dozen dosages. Use them as you will."

"Wait!" I blurted out before he could leave. "Ten thousand dol- _pounds_! I'll pay you ten thousand pounds to make me—" my dazed brain scrambled for a number, and I just said the first one I could think of, "uh, fifty more doses!"

Snape narrowed his eyes at me and I tried not to feel about two inches tall under that dark gaze. "Please?" I added weakly and he finally nodded, a brisk movement.

"I'll require half the payment up front. Minerva knows how to contact me."

With that, not even giving me a chance to say thank you or goodbye or, well, anything at all, Snape twisted sharply on the spot, apparating away.

Leaving me standing there, pouch in hand, dizzy with the new, astounding possibilities extended before me.

 

 ********* **_Luna's wedding dress is inspired by Hedy Lamarr's costume from the 1941 film "Ziegfeld Girl"_ **


	30. Chapter 30

**CHAPTER THIRTY:**

In the wake of Snape’s life-changing visit, I called everyone to a family meeting which Esme had happily offered to host.

Seeing my family all gathered together was quite the sight; shortly after moving to Alaska, Esme had had to commission a table specially to fit us all. There were the Denalis— Tanya, Kate, Garret, Irina and Charlie Weasley; the Cullens— Edward and myself (EJ was currently with Leah, who’d offered to babysit and who I also considered family, along with her brother Seth), Alice, Jasper, Rosalie, Emmett, Esme, Carlisle, Bree and Fred; Luna and Draco; my dad and Qiang.

When Irina and Charlie (Weasley) married, we’d basically be officially related to the entire Weasley clan— including, when they got around to marrying their respective Weasleys, Hermione and Harry Potter— and when my dad and Qiang married, then Angela would officially be my relative too (and Katie, if she and Angela stayed together which I had no doubt they would).

As a single child (though from age eleven onwards, I’d always seen Luna as my “sib from another crib”) it was honestly overwhelming to have such a huge immediate _and_ extended family. But I loved it, I really, _really_ did.

The whole family reunions were going to be _spectacular_.

“So why did you ask to meet us all?” Alice asked me curiously, twirling the end of her lilac silk scarf between her fingers. “I haven’t Seen what this is about.”

“Probably because I haven’t exactly made any decisions about how to tell you all this yet.” I admitted. “I, um… I don’t really know where to even start.”

“Oh shit, you’re not pregnant again, are you?” Emmett asked, alarmed. “Edward! Seriously dude, it can’t be _that_ hard to use protection!”

“Oh shut up, Emmett,” Edward groaned. “She’s not pregnant…” He paused suddenly, glancing over at me with a sudden, dawning anxiety on his handsome face. “You’re not, right?”

“No, I’m not,” I said with a huff that came out weaker then I had intended it. “It’s, um, well I had a visitor today, while Edward and EJ were out. Snape wanted to thank me—“

“Wait, that sentence doesn’t make sense,” Charlie Weasley interrupted, looking confused. “Snape doesn’t thank people. He just glares at them a little less.” He paused, then added, “Also, he’s dead.”

“Ah,” I winced. “We, er, we’d better floo Hermione after this— she can explain it all, plus there’s probably some confidentiality oaths you’re going to have to make. But yeah, he’s alive. Surprise?”

“Shit!” Charlie exclaimed, looking genuinely horrified. “He’s like a cockroach, isn’t he?”

“Or a really mean cat with too many lives left,” I agreed fervently. “But anyway, he came to visit and say thank you— well, sort of; he didn’t actually _say_ it, but he… he definitely _showed_ it through his actions. Here,” I placed the pouch Snape had given me on the table, carefully pulling out one of the stoppered potion phials to place where everyone could see it.

Qiang leaned forwards curiously to get a closer look at the dark red liquid within the glass bottle. “I don’t recognise that.” She said, sounding surprised.

“You wouldn’t— Snape said he created it,” I explained. “Look, there’s no easy way to say this, but… it’s a cure.”

“A cure?” Qiang asked, still examining the potion with a growing interest. “What for?”

I swallowed, not quite able to look at anyone.

“It’s a cure for being a vampire.”

There was a moment of dead silence and then everyone started talking at once in an explosion of noise so loud that I could barely make out any individual voices until Alice stood up on her chair. “Everybody _SHUT UP_!” She bellowed, her volume as impressive— and surprising— as ever, considering how tiny she was.

When everyone went silent, Alice nodded in satisfaction, sitting back down on her chair and folding her hands daintily across her lap. “Excellent.” She said approvingly, before turning to me with an almost-amused expression on her face. “Bella, I think we need a more detailed explanation right now then ‘it’s a cure’.”

“Fair enough,” I agreed (though I _had_ warned them I had no idea what to say), before attempting to do just that. I tried to remember as much of what Snape had told me about the cure as I could, considering the fact that most of it had gone straight over my head. Although most of what I was saying didn’t really make any sense to me at all, a number of the vampires and Qiang all seemed to be able to follow along what I was saying and appeared to be fascinated and impressed.

After I finished explaining to the best of my abilities, there was a long moment of stunned silence that nobody seemed to know how to break. Eventually, I found myself speaking up almost without permission, twisting my hands together nervously in my lap. “I know immortality must be tempting—“ I started to say, but was interrupted by Rosalie making a scornful noise.

“Only fools and cowards wish to live forever,” she said fiercely, “I’m not afraid to be mortal— the sooner the better!”

“Perhaps we should all take some time to talk with our partners,” Carlisle hastily suggested, before Rosalie could keep going on. Everyone agreed and though I first sought out my father, his nod and proud smile as he wrapped an arm around Qiang’s shoulders convinced me he’d be fine without me and I turned to Edward, holding out my hand.

“Should we go to our house?” I asked him, speaking quietly despite knowing that every vampire in the room would be able to hear me— they were all probably too distracted to be paying us any attention anyway. “EJ’s still with Leah, we’ll have the privacy to talk.”

“That sounds ideal,” Edward agreed, slipping his icy hand in mine and I twisted on the spot, apparating us back to our living room. Edward immediately moved to sit down on one of the couches but I couldn’t stay still and instead found myself pacing back and forth in front of him.

“I never wanted you to have to change for me!” I finally burst out when I couldn’t hold it in any longer.

“Bella,” my husband said gently, like he was the one comforting me— and maybe he was; I felt so choked up with emotion I was surprised I’d managed to speak at all. “You’re not asking us to change for you, but to finally get to make the choice for _ourselves_ — none of us chose to be vampires and a good number of us, in fact, would do anything to be human again.”

Feeling slightly reassured, I sat down heavily beside him and reached out so I was clinging onto his icy marble-like hands with both my own soft, warm flesh and blood ones. “EJ,” I whispered, not needing to elaborate any further, and Edward gently squeezed my hands, his face turning serious.

“Before we make any decisions, we’ll ensure that the cure would be safe for him to use.” He promised me and I nodded.

“I— I can get in touch with Hermione,” I said, “she’ll be able to contact Snape so he can tell us if it’s safe.”

“And if it is?” Edward asked softly and I leaned into him, letting him wrap the arm that I wasn’t clinging onto like a limpet around my shoulders.

“I’ll love you forever, no matter what you choose.” I told him honestly and he chuckled, looking down at me with golden eyes filled with a love so strong it took my breath away.

“My silly Bella,” he said, warm and fond, “I choose you. Always you.”

I kissed him then; I couldn’t help myself. Thankfully, Edward seemed to be on the same page as me because, in a move too fast for my brain to register until it was already over, he pulled me around so I was underneath him, stretched out along the couch as his lips consumed mine, our kiss evolving into something passionate, open-mouthed and heated, despite the coolness of his touch.

It didn’t take us long to lose our clothes and the way we clung to each other with an edge of what was almost desperation in our movements reminded me of when we’d made love in the days leading up to the fight against Athenodora. There was that same edge of uncertainty, of vulnerability and fear for what the future held for us. But unlike then, as we rocked together there was also a sense of anticipation, of excitement and possibilities unfolding before us into something bright and beautiful and _ours_.

-

I reached out to Hermione who got back to me within a few days with both the supply of cure potions I’d ordered from Snape as well as the confirmation that the potion would work on EJ. Apparently, she explained, as the cure targeted the cells in a body that were ‘vampiric’ in nature, it would specifically target only the part-vampire half of EJ, turning them ‘human’.

With that knowledge, there was no reason for us to wait any longer and nobody seemed inclined to put it off. Every single vampire member of my family, including my father, Garrett, Bree and Fred, had all decided to take the cure— and so had Peter and Charlotte, when Jasper reached out to them (I had the feeling there was going to have to be some sort of reconciliation between Peter, Charlotte and I in the future, considering their apparent closeness with Jasper and through him Alice, but I was firmly ignoring that right now and planned to continue to do so for as long as feasibly possible— despite popular opinion, I was _very_ capable of holding grudges).

Despite the reassurances we’d been given, Edward still insisted on taking the cure before EJ did, just in case, and I agreed. We arranged for our son to stay with Leah for as long as it took for the cure to finish its work. Seth, with his new car licence (and brand new Audi, courtesy of Edward as a “gift” to his son’s godfather— or that was his excuse anyway, but I knew Edward just liked buying horribly expensive cars), was planning on driving up to Alaska to spend the time with his sister and godson.

Curled up together in our bed, Edward leaned forwards to kiss me tenderly one final time with icy marble lips— and then he lifted the potion phial to his mouth and downed it with one swallow.

“Did it taste foul?” I asked, carefully aiming for casual despite the way my voice trembled slightly and I was unable stop myself from reaching out to grab hold of his hand, needing the touch to anchor myself.

Edward’s eyelids were drooping slightly, almost like he was about to fall asleep, and it was very nearly terrifying to me, to see him doing something so unnatural for a vampire, but he still managed to reassure me, gently squeezing my hand with his as he sank down on our bed so he was laying horizontally instead of propped up against the headboard. “No,” he murmured, “no, it didn’t taste foul at all. It tasted like _life_.”

-

The process of turning from vampire back to human was a gradual one that would stretch out over three days— fitting, I thought; it was almost poetic. The vampires became non-responsive within an hour, all of them falling into a coma-like state which Snape (through Hermione) assured us was completely normal and to be expected.

Apart from brief visits to EJ, who was enjoying spending time with “his Leah”, I stayed with Edward, mostly sitting beside him in our bed with a book to pass the time and one of my hands wrapped tightly around his too-still one.

I could see the changes taking place, as gradual as they were, and as his skin softened under my touch, I could see his features start to soften too. He was still the most stunning man I'd ever laid eyes on, but his skin was naturally a light cream, not chalk-white, and his features weren’t so sharply defined; less eye-catching, more human. My iced-over predator was melting; amber to sap, marble to clay, and I could only ever love him more for it, could only ever find him more beautiful. Even when he no longer resembled a god amongst mere mortals, he would still be one of the most glorious beings in the universe to me.

As three of the longest days of my life finally drew to a close, I curled up beside Edward, wrapping my arms around his warming form and resting my head against his chest, listening for a heartbeat.

And, for the first time in a hundred years, Edward's heart gave an unsteady but solid _thump_. 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Only the epilogue to go <3


End file.
